Out of Time
by Fangirl Alinesfanfics
Summary: 10 years after they first met,Zak Gibbs and Earl Dopler must stop hypertime falling into dangerous hands. But it's a deadly suicide mission they may not survive... Will they succeed and return home to the women who love them? Scifi/Drama/Adventure/Romance
1. Chapter 1

**Clockstoppers: Out of Time**

**Summary:**

**Ten years after Zak first found the watch and had the adventure of a lifetime, time has moved on – and brought with it changes he could not have predicted:**

**After defeating Henry Gates saving his father, Zak Gibbs had gone on to have a better relationship with his Dad, even coming to understand that they were actually quite alike – and realizing that was no bad thing. But their new found father-son bond was torn apart five years later when his father fell ill after developing a reaction to his extended stay in hyper time – dying from an incurable condition known as Accelerated Molecular Disorder, or the Time Traveler's Disease, as it has come to be known. Around this time, Dr Earl Dopler, who never did learn to stop tinkering with time, altered the watch and spent several days in hyper time, having become sick and tired of being stuck in a teenage body after Dr. Gibb's anti aging invention worked a little too well...but his attempt to get back to his mid twenties went wrong and Dopler came out of hyper time as a man aged into his forties...**

**Zak still misses his father but is now happily married to Francesca and they both live at home with Zak's widowed mother. Also still living at home is Zak's younger sister Kellie, who is now in her early twenties. When Kellie was a teenager she had a big crush on the teenage version of Earl Dopler – who was forever avoiding her attentions - but after her father's death, when Kellie discovered Earl had risked his life by having a second extended stay in hyper time and reacted with anger, telling him she hated him for taking such a risk... When Earl contacts Zak, he is brought back into their lives – and taking one look at grown up Kellie, Earl realizes he's made a big mistake, because its love at first sight for him – but not for Kellie, who still thinks he was foolish to mess around with the dangers of extended hyper time again, and doesn't want to know him.**

**But Kellie doesn't know that Earl has only come back to live with them because he too is suffering from the deadly effects of spending too long in hyper time - the condition has taken longer to develop because Earl was much younger than Zak's father when he was forced to spend two weeks in hyper time by Henry Gates – but Earl knows his time his running out and is working on a machine that can reverse the damage done to his body by over exposure to hyper time. Zak is devastated to learn that his friend is suffering the same condition that killed his father – and when Kellie finds out, she reconsiders her feelings for Earl.**

**But just as Earl Dopler is getting closer both to Zak's sister and to finishing the development of the machine that will cure him, Zak is informed by the FBI that the watches confiscated from QT Corporation ten years before have been stolen by a powerful business woman named Delphine Randall, who owns a string of research laboratories – and whose name is linked to a terrorist organization. When Agent Moore, who has been brought out of retirement to deal with this case, informs him of the situation, he tells him that only three men are best qualified to deal with the situation – and two who have fought such a battle in hyper time before... And Zak is asked to take on the challenge of using hyper time to get into Randall's organization and destroy the technology she is building before it is too late, along with a secret agent named Alchemy Fenmore - and the man who created hyper time – Dr Earl Dopler...**

**Zak agrees to go on the mission, and after some soul searching Earl decides to go with him, even though the machine he is building is almost finished and he knows time is running out, because Zak is a close friend and the late Dr Gibbs was like a father to him. Zak and Earl are taken by Agent Moore to a secret research base known as area 51 – where teleportation has recently been invented – and together with the rather strange and sinister Agent Alchemy Fenmore, take a final journey into hyper time leaving behind the women who love them knowing they may never see them again - because with the heavy security surrounding Randall's organization, this is nothing short of a suicide mission...**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Rated T<span>: For adult situations, some violence and some strong language.**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Disclaimer:<span> * I own nothing, this is a work of fan fiction.***

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 1<span>

As Earl Dopler sat alone in his apartment, he wondered if calling Zak Gibbs had been the right thing to do; he hadn't seen him for five years, not since the death of his father...

As he thought about George Gibbs and the way he died, Earl felt a weight grow heavy in his heart and he gave a sigh of despair:

He regretted a lot of things. He hadn't meant to tinker with Dr Gibb's anti aging invention – but he did, and as a result had spent several years living with the Gibbs family, stuck in a teenage body because the machine had taken his age reversal back too far.

Then, when Dr Gibbs was dying, he had caused a scene, criticizing his treatment, he had only been trying to explain that the doctor's attempts to save him were useless, that he needed science instead of medical intervention – but at the time, that science was no where near developed enough. Back then Earl hadn't even _thought_ of a way to reverse the damage caused by extended stays in hyper time...

After Dr Gibb's death, he had made his biggest mistake of all - tampering with the watch and spending several days in hyper time, trying to make himself older again. It had worked, but aged him too much – and Zak's sister had been furious with him. More than furious - she had, in fact told him she hated him. He could still recall the look in her eyes as she had said the words he would never forget:

_"How could you do that Earl?"_ She had said tearfully, _"How could you fool around with hyper time like that? You know it killed my Dad! I hate you; I never want to speak to you again as long as I live..."_

Earl had gone to Dr Gibb's funeral but that had been the last time he had seen Zak or the rest of the family.

He really regretted that now.

_He had too many regrets..._

Earl thought about the message he had left for Zak. He had said very little, not half as much as he wanted to say – but time was running out and he had never meant to burn bridges like this.

He had never expected to find out he was showing the same symptoms as Zak's father – but just after his death, it had happened and Earl had figured it out: Dr Gibbs was older when he went into extended hyper time. He had lived for five more years. Earl was half his age when he had been forced into a long stay in hyper time – and working it out the way he had, it meant he had around five years longer to live than Dr Gibbs...

_Now that time was almost up._

He was still working on something to fix the problem, to reverse the damage done to his body. But it was starting to show now and he knew that meant there was a real possibility that the cure he was working towards might never happen.

He glanced at the silent phone and gave a sigh as he wondered if Zak would ever call. He had left him a message three days ago and he hadn't got back to him. Maybe he never would...

"Come on, dude!" He said impatiently, "Just call me!"

But the phone stayed silent.

Earl took in a shaky breath as he blinked away tears that blurred his eyes for so many reasons as he grabbed a note pad and began to write:

'Dear Zak – I'm sorry. I'm sorry for a lot of things, mainly walking out on your family like I did – but I couldn't stay around – I didn't want to be a teenager all over again, I just wanted to try and get back to being myself. And I'm sorry for causing a scene when your Dad was dying. But what did you expect me to do, man? I knew there was nothing the doctors could do for him- I know the cure lies in science, not medicine. And it's too late for him now and I'm sorry about that, too. But it's also too late for me. Right after your Dad died I started to get the same kind of problems; little things at first. I'd get breathless, my heart would race- then I started getting dizzy and it would come and go and now it's getting worse. I've been working on something to reverse the damage but I don't think I can finish it in time. I think my time has run out. I know what it was like when your father died. I don't want to die like that, Zak. Nobody knows I have the time traveler's disease. I'm keeping it secret because I don't want to wind up in some medical research lab being treated like an experiment. So I'm -'

Earl Dopler stopped writing and looked up from the paper.

His eyes clouded with regret as he looked across the room at the metal chamber that was completed in construction but not completed in programming.

Then he thought about it, made his decision and turned back to the letter:

'_- So I'm taking my own way out._ I'm ending it all now while I can still make that choice. I feel so alone and that's entirely my fault and I'm sorry, I wish I'd never shut any of you out of my life but I didn't know what else to do. And I'm sorry if it's you who finds me, Zak. And tell Kellie I'm sorry – I wasn't insulting your Dad's memory by going back into extended hyper time – I was just trying to make myself a little bit older and be the guy I used to be. And Zak, I waited for you to call me but I can't wait any longer –and that's not your fault, it's _mine_. It's _all_ my fault and I'm sorry for that too – Earl Dopler.'

Then Earl put the pen down and glanced back at the note.

Then he looked at his unfinished invention, left the note on the table and went through to the bedroom, picking his way over boxes and junk as walked in there carefully; in the time he had spent building the chamber that was his last hope of survival, this place had started to look more like a work shop than a home.

Then Earl sat back on his bed and for a moment his hand hovered over several bottles of pills.

Then he grabbed one and opened it. He tipped the pills into his hand and estimated there were enough sleepers there to knock him out fast and kill him before he knew about it. He looked at the pills for a moment as he considered backing out – but he was all alone and with time running out and no one to turn to, he guessed this was one time in his life when there could be no more running away from difficult situations.

Earl picked up a glass of water next to the bed and downed six of the pills. Then he looked at the rest of them, feeling strangely calm as he realized he was already overdosed now and a few more would be so easy to take... _or maybe not..._

_"Come on, man..."_ He said nervously, _"Just do this; you've got nothing to lose any more..."_

Then he shoved the rest of the pills into his mouth and reached for the water, as his shaking hand knocked the glass it fell to the floor and smashed.

_Then the phone rang._

Earl let it ring as he stood there with a mouthful of pills and looked at the shattered glass on the floor.

Then the phone switched to the answering machine and he heard the caller speak:

"Hi Earl, its good to hear from you – it's been too long. I've missed you, we all have...um... you sounded a bit _weird_ when you called...are you okay? If you're there, pick up the phone, it's me, Zak Gibbs... Are you there? _If you're there, answer the door – I'm outside._"

Earl spat the pills onto the floor..._ Zak was here right now at the apartment?_

He left the bedroom, closing the door behind him and paused to go into the front room and screw up the suicide note before throwing it on the floor next to other discarded papers and general clutter. He thought about the pills he had already swallowed and wondered if maybe that alone was enough to kill him anyway – but if it was, at least he would get to see Zak before it was too late...

Zak was knocking at the door now.

"Okay dude, I hear you!" Earl called out, and hurried down the hall to open the door to a friend he had not seen in a long, long time...

* * *

><p>Zak knocked again.<p>

"Earl!" He said loudly "Are you okay-"

Zak fell silent as the door opened and he found himself looking at a friend he had not seen for several years.

He stared at him for a moment; last time he had seen Earl Dopler had been at his father's funeral, and back then Earl had just experimented again with prolonged hyper time in an attempt to adjust his age back to his mid twenties. But it had gone wrong; those few days he'd spent in hyper time had aged him rapidly and Earl had come out of it looking around forty years old – but back then, he had looked very good for it.

Now he looked pale and had dark shadows under his eyes. He looked as bad as when Henry Gates had forced him to spend two weeks in hyper time; Earl looked sick. More than that, he looked weak and tired and for a second Zak thought of the way his father had fallen sick..._no, Earl couldn't have the same condition, not after all these years... it was the last thing he wanted to think was possible, even for a second..._

"Are you okay?" Zak asked him again and this time his voice was hushed.

Earl opened the door wider and stepped back.

"No, but come in any way..."

As Zak went inside Earl shut the door behind him and then looked at Zak: He'd been in his late teens when they'd first met and now Zak Gibbs was in his late twenties. He hadn't changed a great deal and as he looked at him Earl thought back to what had happened five years before.

_"I'm sorry."_

Zak's eyes clouded with confusion.

"Why are you apologizing? I don't get it; I haven't seen you for five years – none of us have – and suddenly you call me up like its life or death and say you need to see me, what the hell's going on?"

"I'll get to that in a minute. I just wanted to say sorry for the way I walked out on everyone without saying goodbye."

Zak was staring at him again.

Earl blinked.

"What?" He snapped, "What are you staring at me like that for?"

"You're sweating, Earl. You look like shit and I think you need to sit down and take a deep breath or something."

Impatience and frustration flashed in his eyes as he looked back at Zak. He hadn't expected it to be easy, to see him again after the way he left, but time was running out and he hadn't expected it to be this difficult to explain...

"_I look like shit?_ Is that _all_ you've got to say to me? _Dude, I'm trying to explain something to you!_"

Zak caught a flash of something in Earl's eyes that bothered him- desperation, fear, it was something close to that and as he took a step forward and leaned against the wall to hold himself up, Zak reached out to steady him.

"I'm listening. But let's go and sit down, okay?"

"Okay." Earl said, feeling weary all of a sudden.

Zak put his arm around him and helped him past boxes and junk and clutter and they went into the front room where they sat down together on a couch.

"What's that?" He wondered, looking at a metal chamber no bigger than a coffin that was over on the other side of the room.

Earl shook his head.

"It doesn't matter now. It was something I was working on but I'll never get it finished."

And Zak heard it in his voice and saw it in his eyes; there was something too final about the way Earl had said that.

"What's going on?" He asked him.

Earl gave a sigh.

"I just wanted to see you. I wanted to say sorry for the way I left like I did. I wanted you to know I regretted that. You were all like family to me. And I never meant to kick off the way I did when your Dad was sick. I was only trying to help, I was trying to point out that he couldn't be cured by anything other than science but nobody would listen to me –"

Earl had tears in his eyes.

Zak put his hand on his arm and briefly gave him a squeeze.

"It's okay, I know that! You loved my Dad like he was your own father; I know you were trying to help. It was a difficult time for all of us. And Kellie didn't understand why you wanted to risk your life just to get a bit older again, not after what happened to my Dad. But she was only a kid, she couldn't put herself inside your head, she couldn't imagine what it was like to be a man stuck in the body of a teenager all over again. I get it; you wanted to get yourself back to normal. I'm sorry it didn't work out the way you wanted to but what age did it leave you at, forty? That's not so bad - but Earl, you look terrible right now and I want to know why. You look like you did when I first met you."

Earl avoided his gaze for a moment as he thought about the situation: He had asked to see Zak because he wanted to see his friend one last time and apologize; it wouldn't be fair to tell him the truth, not now... Zak and his family had been through enough grief watching George die and he wasn't about to put them through any more misery.

He took a deep breath and remembered those pills would be kicking in soon. He was expecting to feel drowsy soon too but it wasn't happening, all he was getting was a stomach cramp...

He looked back at Zak.

"Oh it's nothing – I'm just working too hard and not getting enough sleep. I'll be fine. Don't worry about me. All I want to be sure of is that we're still friends - that matters to me a _lot_."

"We never stopped being friends." Zak told him, "You just walked away and we all missed you and now it's good to see you again."

And Zak gave him a hug.

Earl felt choked up and blinked away tears as he let go.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Zak asked him.

Earl ignored that question.

"So how's Francesca?"

"She's fine. And so is our daughter."

"You've got a kid now?"

Zak smiled and took his cell phone from his pocket and showed him a picture of Francesca and a little girl with dark hair and Zak's eyes and her mother's smile.

Earl looked at the picture for a moment and then looked back at Zak.

"I'm happy for you, dude. I'm glad life's been good to you. How's your Mom?"

"She's okay. But she still misses Dad. It's a good thing me and Kellie still live at home."

"Kellie's still at home?"

Zak laughed as he remembered the way Kellie had followed the teenage version of Earl Dopler around like a devoted puppy.

"You used to _hate_ the way she had a crush on you!"

"Can you blame me? I was a man trapped in a teenager's body – the last thing I wanted was her making eyes at me! I used to tell her to leave me alone!"

Then he thought about their parting words and he felt a wave of sadness.

"But I never meant to upset her the way I did – I tried to explain why I used the extended hyper time again but she hated me for it, she thought after the way her Dad died I should stay the hell away from it. She didn't understand how I could put myself at risk after he died the way he did."

"I'm sure she'll understand now – she'll certainly listen if you want to talk to her."

Earl fell silent for a moment.

_"There's no point."_ He finally said, and then he got up.

"What do you mean?" Zak wondered, but Earl avoided the question.

"I need a glass of water. I won't be a minute." He told him.

As he left the room, Zak looked around again at the junk and the clutter and the strange metal chamber on the other side of the room.

Then he got up and went over to it, running his hand along the metal and looking through a small window at the interior: it was lined with padding almost like a coffin. There was a control panel inside but the keypad was open and wires were hanging out.

Zak wondered exactly what Earl was trying to build. Ten years ago, they'd kept one of the watches and fooled around with a few brief moments of fun in hyper time- but at the end of the day the watch was the property of Dr Earl Dopler, the man who created hyper time – and Zak had given it back to him. But he saw no sign of the watch or any of the technology he recognized back in the days of the QT Corporation.

Zak walked back towards the couch and tripped over a box, he stumbled but didn't fall and as he looked down he noticed a partly screwed up letter in Earl's handwriting and caught his own name on the paper.

Zak picked it up and smoothed it out.

_"Dear Zak?"_ He wondered, then he read the rest of the letter...

* * *

><p>Earl left the bathroom after splashing his face with water and then went into the kitchen. He grabbed a glass from the cupboard and quickly filled it with water, wondering if he could keep himself together for much longer; those pills had made him feel lousy and not in the way he was expecting – he felt like he had an upset stomach and it was getting worse by the minute. Then the room span violently and he caught his breath.<p>

He thought he was falling as he leaned against the kitchen sink and closed his eyes but then Zak was by his side.

Zak turned him around slowly and told him to breathe.

Earl took in a breath and the room stopped spinning.

He opened his eyes and looked at Zak and saw that he was crying.

Zak held up the suicide note.

"You've got it too? You're sick like my father? That's why you wanted to see me, I get it now..."

Earl looked into his eyes and instantly regretted being so careless with that note; he had never intended to upset anyone, especially not Zak.

"I've got no other choice, Zak. I've only lasted this long because I was so young when I first spent a long period in hyper time. No one can help me; I'm not going to die like your father did. I'm taking my own way out while I still have a say in the matter. That metal chamber I've been working on was my last hope. But I'm too tired, I won't finish it now."

Zak wiped his eyes and looked back at the man who he had never stopped thinking of as a friend.

"I'll help you finish it! You can come home with me – come and live with us again, we'll _all_ help you!"

Earl was thinking about what he'd done just before Zak arrived.

"It's too late." He said quietly, "I did something stupid - _I took an overdose just before you turned up here_."

Zak stared at him, thinking he couldn't have heard him right. _Earl had tried to kill himself?_ But the look in his eyes told him he had heard it right; Earl Dopler was resigned to the fact that he was ready to die rather than face whatever lie ahead in the limited future he had left.

"Where's the pills?"

"In the bedroom."

"How many did you take, what are they?"

"Sleepers. I took half a dozen of them. I was about to take the rest when you called me."

Zak looked closely at Earl.

"You don't look sleepy to me. Are you sure?"

"I'm not stupid, Zak! I _know_ what I took, okay?"

Zak got up.

"Just stay there, don't get up, don't do anything. I'll check out the bottle and call the paramedics."

"No!" Earl said sharply, "Don't you get it? I _want_ to do this – I've come to the end of the line there's no hope left and there's not enough time left – _Zak, get back in here!_"

But Zak had already left the room and Earl got up and followed him into the bedroom.

He looked around at the pills all over the floor and then grabbed the empty bottle, noticing Earl had several medications next to his bed, they were all cluttered up and he could only guess at how long he could go on dosing himself like this before his efforts stopped working.

Then he glanced at the label on the bottle.

"Look man," Earl said to him, "If I'd known you were on your way I never would have done the OD but I felt like the time was right and I had no choice."

Zak read the label on the bottle and then looked back at Earl as he thought it strange that even at a time like this he had found something to smile about.

"What's so funny?" Earl demanded, "I'm a sick man, I'm about to end it all and you're _smiling_ about it?"

Zak was still smiling as he showed him the bottle.

"These aren't sleeping pills, Earl. You picked up the wrong bottle. _These are laxatives_."

Earl swiftly left the room and ran to the bathroom.

As he closed the door Zak spoke up again.

"When you finally get out of there I think you should come home with me. I'll have the stuff you're working on moved too, I'll help you finish your work. Don't think about dying, Earl. You're not alone any more."

He felt pretty sure that he heard him even though he gave no reply.

After waiting for a while, Zak finally heard the toilet flush and moments later Earl came out of the bathroom.

As he went back into the front room he caught a smirk on Zak's face and glared at him.

_"It's not funny!"_

Zak was still smiling.

"It is." He told him, "And better than that, it means you didn't get to kill yourself. Now you have to come home with me - come on Earl, think about this: You and me can finish building the chamber together. You won't be on your own my whole family are there and they will be so pleased to see you again, especially my Mom."

"But not Kellie, because she hates me." He reminded him.

"Kellie _doesn't_ hate you! She's grown up now, she's..." Zak paused, trying to think of a flattering way to describe his now grown up sister – and it was a bit of a struggle.

"She's still pushy and loud and talks on the phone to her friends every chance she gets, she still asks me for money sometimes and she likes to get her own way. "

"So she's still Kellie. She hasn't changed. That means she still hates me."

"No, Earl! She's still Kellie but she's grown up now. She _never_ hated you; she just said that because she was feeling upset when our Dad died. She never meant anything she said to you."

Earl looked at him doubtfully.

"Do you really think this will make a difference to the outcome for me? If I can't fix this thing, if I can't finish it in time I could wind up dying just like your father did and then your family will have to go through all that pain again and that's not fair."

"Don't think like that."

As he spoke, Zak had sounded very sure about that.

"Things will work out just fine, you just have to believe that – and remember from now on, you're not alone."

He saw a flicker of doubt in Earl's eyes but then it was gone as he felt Zak's hand on his shoulder and he saw the look in his eyes that reminded him their bond of friendship was stronger than ever; it made him feel like maybe hanging on a little while longer and trying to work on the cure might actually be a good idea after all.

"Thanks, Zak." He said, "I'm definitely taking you up on that offer. "

Zak breathed a sigh of relief – Earl was definitely safer now, once he was back home with him the whole family would rally round and do whatever they could to help him out. That would make him feel stronger, that would help him to keep his will to live and maybe they would even have time to finish his invention...suddenly things didn't seem so bleak any more.

"Let's go right now." Zak told him, "Don't worry about moving your stuff, I'll get that done in the next couple of days."

Earl stared at him.

"I don't think I should just turn up on your doorstep, your family haven't seen me for a long time."

"They'll be glad to see you." He promised him.

He thought about it.

_"Kellie won't."_

"Yes she _will!_"

Earl still had a flicker of doubt in his eyes.

But then he cast a glance around the apartment that looked more like a workshop and guessed he would be better off at the Gibb's house again.

"Okay, I'll come with you."

Earl grabbed his leather jacket that was draped over the back of the sofa and put it on.

Zak headed for the door.

"I mean it, Earl – my family will welcome you back."

"I'm sure they will." He said, "But you'll have to wait...I've got to go again!"

And he dashed back into the bathroom.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Zak found himself smiling as he thought about Earl's mistake and shook his head. At least it had only been laxatives; Earl Dopler was brilliant scientist but Zak was glad despite his brilliance he was clumsy and dumb enough to have picked up the wrong pills...

* * *

><p>When they drove back to Zak's house and parked outside, Earl felt strange to think it seemed like only yesterday when he had fooled around with Dr G's anti-aging device and turned himself back into a teenager. He regretted repeating the extended stay in hyper time because he had wound up aging too much again, but he couldn't regret deciding to do it in the first place because he had just been trying to put himself right, even if Kellie had hated him for doing it...<p>

He got out of the car but Earl hesitated.

"Come on." Zak said to him, "What's the matter?"

Zak got out of the car and put on his dark glasses to hide the shadows under his eyes.

"It feels strange coming back here after all this time."

Zak brushed that remark aside.

"Let's go and see my Mom."

They went up the path to the front door and Zak opened it and stepped inside and Earl followed.

As he looked around he was surprised to see this place had barely changed at all.

"Mom!" Zak called out, "I've got a surprise for you!"

Jenny Gibbs came out of the kitchen and walked up the hall looking like time couldn't have insulted her if it tried; she still had honey colored hair and the same sparkling eyes that lit up when she smiled that didn't seem to show a lie on her face. George's death had taken its toll on her and broken her heart, but that heartbreak had not played havoc with her looks; she was still pretty.

"Earl!" She exclaimed, and gave him a big hug.

As she stepped back she smiled at him.

"It's so good to see you! It's been too long –"

_"Mom."_

She looked at her son, her smile fading as she heard the serious tone in his voice.

"What's the matter?"

Zak glanced at Earl and he gave a heavy sigh.

"This is the part I _don't_ want talk about." He said quietly.

_"I'll tell her."_

"Tell me what?" Now Jenny was getting worried as she looked back at her son.

Zak had never thought this would be easy. But Francesca was picking Maria up from school and Kellie was out and now was the best time to tell his Mom, because she needed to know first, he could always explain to the rest of the family later on – but his Mom would be the one who took the news the hardest, because of how his Dad had died...

"Earl's working on a machine to reverse the damage he sustained from his extended stay in hyper time. I want him to live with us while he works on it."

"Fine," Jenny replied, "You can use the basement – George often liked to work down there."

Then she thought about what her son had just told her.

"What did you say the machine's for?"

This time Earl explained it clearly.

"It's to reverse the damage done to my cellular structure caused by staying too long in hyper time ten years ago. It works on a similar principle to a decompression chamber, the sort that divers use if they come up to the surface too fast, but on a hyper time level..."

And then he fell silent.

His words had suddenly made sense in the worst possible way and Jenny stared at him.

"Earl, are you trying to say –"

He nodded.

"That's right, I was younger than your husband when I spent too long in hyper time – but that just bought me a few more years than George had. I've got it too – I've got the time traveler's disease. And I don't have much time left to get his machine working. It's all I've got left to hope for."

And Earl took off his shades and Jenny saw the deep shadows under his eyes.

She knew she was becoming tearful as she looked at him, then she gave him a hug.

"Oh Earl, I'm so sorry for you, honey!" She said as she tried to hold back from crying, "Don't worry, you can stay here- and we'll all do everything we can to help you, I promise you we'll do that."

As she let go of him he looked sadly into her eyes.

"I never wanted to come back here and bring reminders of the past, like how your husband died... but thank you, thanks a lot for letting me stay."

Jenny spoke with compassion in her voice, holding back the tears she wanted to weep that were better off wept privately, "You're welcome to stay here Earl." She reminded him, "You should always think of this house as your home, you know that."

Zak took an overnight bag from Earl's grasp and carried it for him.

"Come upstairs – I'll help you get settled in. You can have your old room back."

And Earl laughed as he followed him up the stairs.

"The room I had when I was teenage Dopler?"

"Yeah, that's the one!"

Jenny stood at the bottom of the stairs and watched as Earl and her son went up, still talking about old times. Then she turned around and went back into the kitchen, where she closed the door firmly and leaned against it, letting out quiet sobs as she thought of the loss of her husband, of how the condition that killed him would probably kill Earl, too. She thought about Zak, who could lose his friend after only just finding him again – and then she thought of her daughter Kellie, who she felt sure did not hate Earl like she said she did all those years before – in fact, she suspected her feelings were quite the opposite underneath –_Kellie would take this badly too..._

Then she took a deep breath and carried on making the dinner because it would do no good to anyone to sit around crying, even if there was a real possibility that soon both her children would be crying again because Earl had the same disease that had taken their father, and grief was the worst pain in the world, the one thing she wished she could protect her kids from – _but this was life, death was a part of it and protecting them from any of this was utterly impossible..._


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

It was growing dark by the time Zak had helped Earl to get settled back into his old room, then he had gone back over to his apartment and fetched some more of his things. By the time he got back Francesca had put their daughter to bed and then gone into the kitchen to help Jenny clean up after dinner.

"Need any help?" Zak offered.

"No thanks, Zak, we're okay." Francesca replied, and she looked at her husband and then glanced back to Jenny.

Usually her eyes lit up when she looked at him, but today Francesca's dark brown eyes were filled with sorrow and he knew why; his Mom had told her everything.

Zak grabbed a beer from the fridge and went out into the garden, having learned long ago that when Francesca was in a quiet mood like this, it was usually his mother who she turned to, mainly because her own family were now back in Venezuela, she only saw them on rare visits but mainly kept in touch via email, so Jenny was the closest she could get to talking to her own mother - and he knew it was best to step outside and take in some night air.

He sat down on a garden swing seat that had recently been added to the ever growing collection of garden furniture – since Maria had come along his Mom had splashed out on patio chairs, a barbecue, every summer this garden was alive with kids and their parents and the kids all played on the swings and slide at the far end of the garden.

Having a child of his own reminded Zak of his own childhood and how happy it had been; but happy memories were always touched by sadness when he remembered his Dad and the fact that he was no longer around. _He missed him every day._ He wished he had been around to see him build up his successful business selling classic cars, he wished he had been around to see Maria, his only grand child...

Zak took a swig from the beer bottle and watched as the stars sparkled in the night sky. He thought of his father some more and wondered if he was up there, watching over him.

_"I miss you."_ He murmured in the hope that he could hear him.

Then he thought back to the past, back to the start of everything when he had first found the watch.

It was a big deal, to know that he and Francesca and his father and Earl had all helped to defeat Henry Gates.

_They were all heroes; they'd saved the world._

_They'd saved the world and nobody knew about it..._

Then he thought about Earl. If he couldn't get that machine he was building finished and working, he wouldn't be around much longer.

Zak guessed he should have known it the first time they'd met; one look at him had told him how much staying too long in hyper time had aged him, and not just on the outside. When Henry Gates had forced him to spend two weeks in hyper time, he had as good as killed him. And dying like his father did was a terrible way to go. It would start with what Earl was feeling right now, weakness, tiredness. Then his heart and lungs would start to wear out, along with other major organs, shutting down one by one as his memory started to fail too. If he was lucky, he wouldn't even remember who the hell he was by the time the end came...

Zak blinked as tears blurred his night time view of the garden and he took in a breath and then swigged from the bottle a second time.

_"No,"_ He said quietly, _"He'll make it... he has to..."_

Then he thought about how smart Earl was. He could build that machine, of_ course_ he would – because there couldn't be an alternative, not one that he could bear to think about...

* * *

><p>As Jenny put away the plates and finished cleaning up after dinner, Francesca sat down at the kitchen table and gave a deep sigh.<p>

"Jenny..."

"I know." She replied, "I_ know_ what's on your mind."

And Jenny turned away from the cupboard and pulled out a chair and sat beside her in the kitchen.

"You're worried about Zak?" She said quietly.

Francesca ran her fingers through her dark hair and nodded.

"Zak _and_ Earl - I'm worried for the both of them. I don't think Zak can go through seeing another person he loves die; I know how heart broken he was over his father. And it upsets me too when I think about Earl being so sick...but what can we do? There's nothing any of us can do but hope he can finish building his machine before he gets too sick to work."

And she glanced at the back door. It was closed but she lowered her voice all the same.

"He's out there now with a beer in his hand, Jenny!"

Zak's mother gave a sigh as she thought about just how often and how much her son used to drink in the days following his father's death. She was sure if her son had not had the rest of his family around him he would have gone right under, he would have become an alcoholic for sure because after his Dad died the only way he got through each day was to drink himself into oblivion because that was all he could face for quite a long time...

She caught the worried look in Francesca's eyes and managed to smile.

"As long as he stops at _one_ beer I don't think we have much to worry about." She told her, "Zak got control of his drinking a long time ago. He won't fall apart, he's stronger than that."

Francesca's gaze wandered back to the window and she thought about her husband, out there in the dark, alone with his thoughts and nothing but alcohol for company. His father's death had almost killed him too; Zak had been though a lot since the day she fell in love with the boy who raked the leaves with her in her parent's garden a decade before...

That worried look was still in her eyes and Jenny was quick to spot it.

"Francesca, he _won't_ fall apart. I know my son – I know he can handle this."

"Of course he can." She agreed, trying to sound like she believed that too, trying to sound as sure of Zak as his mother was, but Francesca knew him too and she was far more concerned than she cared to show.

Then the front door shut noisily.

"I'm home!" Kellie called out, "I've got two whole weeks to sit around and do nothing and I can't wait!"

Jenny looked at Francesca.

"We have to tell her everything before she bumps into Earl, just in case they start fighting again."

"Maybe he doesn't want her to know."

"We should tell her." Jenny replied, "Just to make sure she doesn't say anything mean to him."

"No," Francesca said quietly as Kellie walked up the hallway, "We don't have the right to do that! Let Earl tell her in his own time - we don't even know if the two of them can get along together after the fight they had..."

Then Kellie walked into the room and glanced at her Mom and Francesca.

"What?" She wondered, "Why are you two sitting there like there's a big secret? What is it? Tell me..."

Jenny spoke up at once, making Francesca right; it wasn't up to them to tell Kellie everything – Earl had said he was wary of seeing Kellie again because he wasn't sure they could even live under the same roof after the bitter quarrel they'd had a few years back...

"Earl Dopler's here, Kellie. He was having a few problems and he called Zak and Zak invited him to come and stay with us while he works on a project. It's good to have him back; it feels like he's never been gone..."

The look in Kellie's eyes hardened.

"_Earl Dopler?_ You invited him to _stay_ here? How could you do that after the way he behaved? He knew my Dad died because he spent too long in hyper time and what did he go and do after my Dad passed away? He did it again; he played around with hyper time just to make himself older! _How_ could he have done that after watching Dad die?"

"He didn't see it that way." Jenny reminded her, keeping her voice low and hoping Kellie would do the same because Earl was upstairs, "He was trying to put himself right, honey. He didn't do it to disrespect your father's memory!"

Kellie fell silent for a moment as she thought about Earl: she had met him when she was a kid, back when he had been teenage Earl Dopler. She was sure memories of that crush she had on him still lingered, even to this day but it was mixed up with the anger she felt at the way he had, in her own words, fooled around with hyper time like her father's death hadn't mattered...she could still remember how much she had hated him when they quarreled over it... that had been a long time ago. But all the same, she still didn't want to see him again because she didn't want to remember that quarrel or the hurt she saw in his eyes right before he walked out of their lives...

"Where is he now?" She wondered.

"Upstairs-"Jenny paused, hearing footsteps coming closer.

"He _was_ upstairs." She added.

The kitchen door opened and Earl walked into the room.

He stared at the slender young woman in her early twenties with a pretty face and blonde hair that fell to her shoulders. His gaze briefly wandered downwards and then back up again as he took in her curves that were wrapped up in a light blouse and short denim skirt.

"Hi." He said, and then quickly looked back at Jenny and Francesca.

"I was just going to grab a sandwich if that's okay."

"Earl," Jenny said, "I told you, think of this place as your home. Grab whatever you want!"

And Earl glanced back at the pretty blonde. She was staring at him but he guessed she would because he looked lousy being so pale and with shadows under his eyes, but as he looked at her he felt his heart miss a beat and it was nothing to do with his weakened body – he felt like love had just him in the face with speed of an express train.

She knew none of this; she just turned away, then left the room.

Earl looked back at Jenny and Francesca.

"Who's the hottie?" He remarked, and Francesca laughed softly.

"That's Kellie." Said Zak's Mom, "You didn't recognize her?"

Earl blinked, looking back at the doorway right where she had been standing, then he turned back to Jenny with a look of surprise in his eyes.

"No, I didn't recognize her at all! She's beautiful!"

Then the sparkle that had briefly lit up his eyes faded.

_"And she still hates me."_ He remarked.

Francesca got up from the table and glanced out of the window.

Zak was leaning against the wall and still had the bottle in his hand, but he wasn't drinking it like he wanted to get drunk, that bottle just stayed in his hand while he looked off thoughtfully into the darkness. She recognized that look on his face; he was thinking about the past again. Thinking but _not_ drinking, so she guessed she didn't have to worry too much about him going off the rails, at least not tonight...

"I'll fix you something to eat, Earl." Francesca said, "Come and sit down with us."

But Earl just shook his head.

"I changed my mind. I'm tired. I think I'll have an early night..."

And then he left the room.

Francesca thought about Kellie.

"I wonder if he's going to talk to her..."

Jenny looked thoughtfully towards the doorway.

"I hope they do talk," She replied, "They'll have to sooner or later, they can't avoid each other forever."

* * *

><p>Kellie Gibbs shut her bedroom door and kicked off her shoes and walked over to the window.<p>

The room was dark and she wanted to keep it that way; turning the light on would only throw soft pastel shades around the room and do nothing to calm down the emotions that swirled around inside her like a storm that couldn't decide whether to break or not.

She had never expected to see Earl Dopler again. Memories of her teenage crush rose sharply in her heart but it was mixed with memories of the anger that had got her so fired up after she found out he'd used hyper time to again, even though it had killed her Dad – he had used it just to grow up again because he didn't want to be stuck in his teens... _She had yelled at him, told him he'd insulted her father's memory, she had slapped his face and said she hated him..._

She heard a gentle tap on the door.

"Go away." She said.

There was another tap.

_"Go away!"_ She snapped.

There was a pause.

Then another, quieter knock sounded.

Kellie gave a sigh and went over to the door and opened it sharply.

Earl looked at her nervously as if he remembered their quarrel as clearly as she did, as if he expected her to slap his face again.

"Hi Kellie." He said quietly, "I just wanted to say..." He stopped, looking at her face and searching for signs that her eyes might start blazing or she might start yelling at him again. But she just stared at him like she had a moment ago in the kitchen.

He felt nervous as hell as he drew in a breath and said what was on his mind.

"I need to talk to you. Can I come in for a minute?"

She was still looking at him.

_"Please?"_ He added.

She stepped away from the door and went over to the bed and turned on a soft lamp.

"Make it brief, I study hard and this is my vacation time as of today and I'm not planning on wasting more than a second of it on you."

And she sat down on her bed and looked up at him.

Earl sat down on the bed too but made sure there was a distance between them – she was up by the pillow, he was down at the other end - and they looked at each other again.

Kellie frowned as she studied the shadows under his eyes.

"You look terrible." She told him, "You remind me of how my Dad looked when he got sick. But he didn't fool around with hyper time – he was forced to stay there too long..."

_"So was I!"_ Earl said a little too sharply, "Don't you start talking like that again! I was _forced_ to stay there longer than your Dad! Gates stuck me in there for _two weeks!_"

No flicker of sympathy registered in Kellie's eyes.

"And after my father died, you messed about with the watch and went into hyper time for...let me see..._how long was it, ten days?_ Even though it killed my Dad, you went back and did it again just because you didn't want to be stuck in your teens? It didn't get you back to your twenties, did it, now you're in your forties and you have to live with it! That's what you get for messing about with things you should have left alone!"

She blinked away tears as she glared at him.

"How could you take a risk like that after spending too long in hyper time killed my father? Don't you care about yourself, Earl? You knew it was dangerous!"

He dragged in a breath and knew his own eyes were filling with tears but he made no attempt to stop them from flowing.

"I aged too far the second time because I'd been over exposed to hyper time the _first_ time." He said quietly, "When Gates forced me to spend two weeks in hyper time. That's what did it to me. That's what caused the damage I'm suffering from now. I don't regret experimenting because I'm a scientist and I'm proud that I created something as ground breaking as hyper time! But I never would have spent two weeks there any more than your father would have because of the aging problem– but we were forced to do that. Your Dad died because of it and now I'm the same as him. It didn't catch up with me right away but it has now._ I'm as sick as he was. I've got Accelerated Molecular Disorder. I'm trying to build a machine that can reverse the damage but I don't know if I have enough time left to finish building it._ That's why I'm here, because I need to be with you guys again. I need Zak's help and he wants to help me."

Kellie had heard every word he said and for a moment felt as if the air had been sucked from the room... _Earl was sick like her Dad? Earl was dying?_ There was so much she wanted to say, but she couldn't find the words.

_"It's your own fault!"_ She said bitterly, _"Now get out, leave me alone!"_

And she looked away from him, because she hadn't meant to say that, and she had seen the hurt in his eyes and she knew he was crying, too.

"I'll try and keep my distance." He said quietly, "That's probably best for both of us. I'm sorry if I've upset you again, Kellie."

She turned away and looked out of the darkened window.

"Just get out." She stated.

Earl caught sight of her face reflected in the glass.

What he saw made him want to turn back, to put his arms around her and hold her even if she slapped him again, he just wanted to hold her so they could cry together for everything they would never have – but Kellie wanted him to leave so he did – even though he had caught the look in her eyes and seen her tears reflected in the glass. He knew for sure she didn't hate him, she just didn't know how to start liking him again. _Maybe she never would..._

* * *

><p>Much later, as Jenny Gibbs was ready to slide off into a deep sleep, she was pulled out of it by the sound of her bedroom door opening.<p>

She sat up in bed, blinking as her eyes grew accustomed to the dark.

"Sorry Mom." Whispered Kellie, "But I need to talk to you."

Kellie sounded upset.

Jenny snapped on the light just as he daughter sat on the edge of the bed and she saw at once that Kellie's face was streaked with tears.

"Mom..." She said tearfully, _"I don't know what to do...I didn't mean to say the wrong thing to him, I just..."_

And she gave up trying to explain and sobbed as Jenny put her arm around her.

As she quietly cried in her arms, Jenny had already guessed what this was about: Kellie had always been loud, pushy, always ready to open her mouth and say something – but not necessarily the right thing at the right time. She was young and impulsive and that fiery temper of hers had got the better of her again.

"I didn't want to be mean to him Mom...I wanted to hug him. _But I didn't do it!_"

Jenny saw such regret in her daughter's eyes as she looked at her and she wished Earl wasn't so sick and that her daughter hadn't been so stupid, because she could plainly see what was going on here and if Earl was in good health and Kellie wasn't crying her eyes out, she felt sure she would have banged their heads together then told the pair of them to kiss and make up – because it was obvious that making up was important to both of them – _and by the look in she'd caught in Earl's eyes and the look she saw now in her daughter's eyes, the kissing part didn't seem like a bad idea, either..._

"He's told you?" She guessed.

Kellie nodded. Then more tears filled her eyes.

"Mom," She whispered, not wanting to wake up the rest of the household, "I never meant to upset him. I felt like my heart was breaking when he told me how sick he is. It's really made me think."

"And that can only be a good thing." Jennie reminded her.

Kellie looked back at her with confusion in her eyes. Sometimes her Mom talked like she knew everything but often these things just passed Kellie by because she was clueless about so much that she was yet to know about.

"What do you mean, Mom?"

"I think you should forget about tonight." She told her,"Go to bed, wait until tomorrow when Zak has the rest of Earl's things moved over here. He's going to be working on his machine in the basement. Why don't you go down there and offer to help him? That could be a good start to the two of you being friends again."

Kellie had stopped crying now.

"How do you know I want us to be friends again?"

Jenny gave her a knowing smile.

"Because I'm your mother and I don't miss much! Now go to bed and get some sleep, Kellie. Don't worry about Earl; you can make things right with him tomorrow."

"Do you think he'll want me to do that?"

"Yes I do." She replied,"But he can be a bit sensitive so go carefully if you don't want to quarrel with him all over again. Just take it slow, honey."

"He said he thought it might be better if he kept away from me."

"After you upset him?"

Kellie nodded.

Jenny looked into her eyes.

"He didn't recognize you when you first walked into the kitchen. He called you a hottie and said you were beautiful."

Surprise registered in Kellie's eyes, then she felt confused again.

"What are you trying to do, Mom - get us_ together?_"

Jenny left that question unanswered, feeling sure the pair of them would work it out in the end...

She gave Kellie another hug and then let go of her.

"Just go back to bed, honey. Things won't seem so bad in the morning."

Kellie kissed her cheek and got up again.

"Thanks for listening."

"Don't worry about it – it's my job, it's what us mothers do. Now go to bed!"

"Good night Mom."

"'Night, Kellie." She said.

Then Kellie left the room and Jenny turned out the light and settled back beneath the covers, feeling sure that Kellie would work it out eventually- she had seen it plainly looking at the pair of them –_ Earl and Kellie were a romance wanting to happen and if it did, she certainly wouldn't be unhappy about it..._

* * *

><p>Next morning while Francesca was helping Maria to get ready for school, Zak was pacing the hallway talking on his cell phone. When he ended the call he glanced at his wife.<p>

"Could you do me a favour, honey?"

"Not until Maria's at school and I've run some errands in town for your Mom, _no_."

Zak caught the hint of coldness in her tone and guessed maybe he should have talked to her last night instead of getting into bed, turning over and going to sleep.

"I just need you to go into work for me today and show a client a car. I can't reschedule the appointment and this is a guy who's bought from me before- he spends big money."

"You can't be there?"

"I have to help the guys I've paid to move the rest of Earl's stuff."

Francesca gave a sigh.

"What about the two guys you employ to run the business for you?"

"Who do you think I asked to move Earl's stuff at such short notice?"

She gave him a weary look.

"Ok. I'll do it. But I want to talk to you when I get back, Zak!"

Maria looked up at her parents.

"What are you going to talk about?" She wondered.

Zak smiled down at her.

"Nothing honey!"

Francesca glanced at her daughter.

"We're going to talk about a couple of things you don't have to worry about, sweet heart – things called _priorities and communication!_"

She looked back at Zak.

He smiled apologetically.

"We'll talk later, I promise. I love you."

He leaned in for a kiss and she fixed him with a look that told him she definitely wanted them to have that talk when he got back.

"Still love me?" He said teasingly.

She still had that look in her eyes that reminded him she was serious.

"_Do_ you love me, yes, no?" He said.

Finally she smiled and leaned closer, giving him a brief kiss.

"That's a _yes?_" He said with an amused look in his eyes.

She smiled back at him

"Yes! And we'll talk later, okay?"

"Sure." He replied.

Then she led Maria out of the front door.

As the door closed behind them Zak's smile faded; every time something was on his mind that dragged him backwards down that dark tunnel that led back to the days of his deepest depression, Francesca knew about it. She knew his Dad's death was on his mind, she knew he was worried about Earl, too. She always tried to make him talk about the things that were on his mind but he guessed she would never understand that no matter how much he loved her, there had only ever been _one_ person he had ever shared his worries with – his Dad. _It just wasn't the same, opening up to anyone else..._

Then Earl came down the stairs.

"So what time are we getting the rest of my stuff?" He wondered.

Zak stared at him in surprise. He was still pale and had deep shadows under his eyes, but he seemed so much brighter all of a sudden, like being back here was just the tonic that he needed.

"We can leave right now if you want to – I'm meeting the guys around nine thirty, they'll get everything loaded up for you."

Zak put on his shades.

"Let's go, dude!" He said, and then they left the house together.

* * *

><p>Kellie was already up but still in her room.<p>

She had thought about going downstairs because she wanted to see Earl but then she had thought about what she had said to him the night before and swiftly changed her mind.

She stood by the window and watched as Zak got into his car, then she caught sight of Earl, who was wearing dark jeans and a leather jacket and sunglasses.

He glanced back at the house and she quickly let go of the curtain and stepped back, not wanting him to catch her watching.

As they drove away in her brother's car, Kellie gave a sigh and wondered again what she ought to do.

She knew she didn't want to fight with him again, but taking her Mom's advice wasn't as easy as it seemed - she had never known how difficult such a small word could be to say, but right now she couldn't do it, she didn't know where to begin, even though all she had to do was just say_ sorry..._

Kellie sat down at her dressing table and opened up her jewellery box.

She reached under the lining at the back and pulled out a key, then turned the box around and unlocked the secret panel at the back.

She only kept one item inside it and as she drew it out she smiled as memories crowded her thoughts of the first time she had laid eyes on him, she could still remember the way her heart had missed a beat, how she had felt the ache of first love that had never been returned.

_The photo was the only one she had of him and she had never thrown it out, even after they'd quarreled..._

As she looked at the picture of the teenage version of Earl Dopler leaning against Zak's first car, she ran her finger down his image and felt an ache that she couldn't deny. It didn't matter that his attempts to set his age right had made him so much older again; he was still Earl and she couldn't ignore the way her heart still ached every bit as much now as it had back then...

She didn't want to think about what it meant but she already knew because she had_ always_ known... but it just made everything all the more complicated; of _course_ she wanted to be friends with him again. She wanted more than that and that was why this was so difficult because of the part she didn't want to think about but couldn't ignore: She had _never_ had a crush on Earl. It had been so much more and still was – _she was in love with the guy..._

* * *

><p>By mid day the rest of Earl's belongings had been moved back to the house- and the metal chamber had been moved with great difficulty to the basement.<p>

Earl had started to work right away, unpacking boxes and taking out everything he needed to work on his invention.

Zak had offered to join him in the basement, but then Francesca had pulled him back, looking into his eyes with an expression that said she wasn't about to wait any longer to have that talk with him.

Zak had gone back outside and got into his car and Francesca had got in too and they had gone for a drive.

Back in the old days, when he had his first car, Zak had often taken her for drives – he had a list in his mind of all the places where they used to go, and today because the weather was warm he decided to go back to the quiet spot not far from home, a place just off the highway that overlooked fields. There was a clearing off the road where they could park up and in the old days he would have spent hours there, just being in her arms.

But today it was a very different situation as he parked the car and switched off the engine.

He turned and looked at his wife.

"Okay, we're all alone. Let's talk. What's on your mind?"

And he smiled, trying to make light of the situation, ready to do _anything_ to avoid opening up and talking about why his heart felt like it was in shreds right now...

Francesca ran her fingers through her long dark hair and looked into his eyes.

"This is not nice for me." She stated, "I can see your heart is in pieces because you know Earl's sick and you're thinking about how and why your father died...let me in, Zak!"

He gave a heavy sigh.

"You know me. You know I don't talk about this kind of stuff. Yes, I _am_ upset. But I'm trying to think that this will turn out okay. I'm thinking Earl can fix his machine and get himself better – he can do this, Francesca! He's the guy who created hyper time! He's smart, _don't_ under estimate him!""

Francesca hadn't taken her eyes off her husband for a second.

"But if he doesn't finish his invention and he dies? What then, what happens to you?"

She saw the pain flicker in his eyes and then vanish once more as he pushed aside that possibility.

_"It won't come to that."_

She spoke to him softly, wishing he would let out his grief and cry in her arms, cry for Earl and for his father - but she knew Zak well enough to know he just wouldn't do it.

"It breaks my heart too when I think about what's happened to Earl and I want him to make it as much as you do. But I'm scared for us if he dies and you crawl back inside a bottle like you did when your father died – and where does that leave me and Maria?"

Her words felt more like an accusation than a statement of her lack of faith in him. It hurt more than he let on and Zak just shook his head.

"I thought you_ knew_ me, Francesca."

_"I do!"_

"Then_ trust_ me! I won't go back to getting drunk, I learned from it the first time around – it doesn't make any of the bad stuff go away. And I know how lucky I am because I still have you, because you stuck by me and you married me and now we have a family! So no, I won't fall apart if the worst happens, okay?"

Zak had spoken from his heart and sounded as sure as he could be; the past had taught him a lot and he wasn't going to fall into the same trap twice.

He reached out and ran his fingers through Francesca's hair, then leaned a little closer as their eyes locked and he hoped that she could see the truth he was trying to convey.

"I have you and Maria." He reminded her, "I love you both and I will _never_ do anything to jeopardize that. - I'd never risk losing what we have. The world could end tomorrow and I'd still be saying the same thing. There's _nothing_ that could ever wreck what we have. I'm with you forever and I love you and I'll never do anything to tear us apart, never!_ Please believe me- it's the truth_."

Francesca leaned closer and they kissed, as their lips touch the kiss deepened and then Zak pulled back and looked at her again.

Then she smiled and so did he.

"I believe you." She said, feeling sure Zak had spoken from his heart.

* * *

><p>It was almost one in the afternoon.<p>

Earl had been down in the basement ever since Zak and Francesca had left and for all that time, Kellie had avoided him.

But she knew she couldn't avoid him forever and eventually she had tapped on the basement door, got no reply and opened it, then just stood there looking down the stairs.

"Earl?" She said quietly, but still got no reply.

The light was already on so she went down the stairs.

When she got to the bottom she looked around at the boxes and tools and to her everything looked like junk but she guessed he knew what he was doing with it.

Then she saw the metal chamber across the far end of the basement. The lid was opened up and Earl was leaning inside it. He reached out of the chamber and his hand moved about on the pile of boxes beside it as he felt for something he couldn't see.

"Screwdriver..." He said to himself.

Kellie placed it in his hand.

"Thanks." He replied.

Then he stopped what he was doing and got up from the chamber and turned around.

"Kellie." He said, "Hi, good to see you again. Thanks for the screwdriver – I'm busy right now..."

And he turned back to the chamber and started to work on the open panel inside it.

"You're busy?"

She wondered suddenly feeling awkward as she realized when he said he'd keep his distance he clearly meant it.

"That's right Kellie, I'm _busy_."

"I just wanted to say Hi." She said.

"Okay." He replied, and carried on working.

_"And wanted to say I'm sorry."_

Earl was still leaning over the wiring; he still had his back to her. Suddenly his mind was completely off what he was doing as her words sunk in.

"Okay." He said again, and tried to concentrate on the open panel.

"Earl?"

He gave a sigh and put the screw driver down sharply and got up from the chamber and turned to face her.

_"What?"_

As he spoke he had felt ready to snap at her again, but that urge left him when he saw the look in her eyes.

She took a step closer.

"I don't want us to fight any more. _I want us to be friends_."

She was saying the words he had longed to hear but all the same, he felt awkward.

"That sounds good to me." He said, avoiding her gaze.

She was still looking at him.

"I was wrong about everything I said years ago. I was upset, I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry for everything."

He dismissed it with a wave of his hand and finally glanced at her.

"It's in the past; forget about it."

And he briefly smiled, then turned back towards the chamber to carry on working.

"Earl?" She said again.

He looked back at her and this time he didn't snap at her.

"What, Kellie?"

She cast a glance around the basement at the tools and the junk and all the stuff that only Earl understood and guessed it was worth a shot, even if he said no...

"Can I do something to help?" She offered.

"No." He said, "I can manage by myself, honey."

Then he blinked as he came to the conclusion that had been the _wrong_ answer, because she had turned away and she was about to leave and he didn't want her to do that.

"Actually there is something you can do." He said quickly, realizing too late he didn't have a clue what he could ask her to do for him- she knew nothing about what he was trying to build.

Kellie turned back and looked at him.

"What is it?" She wondered.

Earl looked around the basement and his mind drew a blank.

"Could you make us both a coffee and come back down here and then I'll find you something to do...I've got some stuff to sort out, it won't take long."

"Okay." She said, and she smiled at him and that smile made his heart miss a beat.

Then she turned and walked back up the basement steps and she still had that smile on her face as one thought ran through her mind: _Her Mom had been right, saying sorry was easier than she had expected it to be..._


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

_"So what do you want me to do?"_

As he heard Kellie ask that question Earl wondered what he could ask her to do; the truth was, he was just glad she wanted things to mend between them - and he wanted her around, even if he couldn't think of anything she could help him with right now.

"I don't think there's much you can do. I'm still trying to think of something."

She set the coffee down on a table that had little space left because he had turned it into a work bench and smiled at him again.

"I don't mind if it's boring, just give me something to do!"

Then she looked again at all the stuff strewn across the table where Earl was now sitting: she had noticed something that looked familiar and she snatched it up.

"A hyper time watch?"

"I'm taking the technology out of it because I need to reprogram it and then I'm installing it in the chamber. _Don't_ touch it, just put it down."

But Kellie was already toying with it, remembering the fun her brother used to have with that watch.

"Does it still work?"

Earl held his hand out.

"Give it back, Kellie."

"I'm just looking at it. Zak never did show me how it worked, I was too young, he wouldn't let me fool around with it."

Earl got up from his seat and made a grab for the watch. Kellie swiftly pulled it back and laughed.

"I won't damage it! I just want to look at it –"

"Give it back." He said quickly, snatching it from her.

The watch beeped and lit up as he lifted it from her hand. The message flashed up _Hyper Time Engaged_ and the world seemed to shudder, then everything was frozen.

Earl looked at the timer – it was counting down sixty seconds, a short burst of hyper time would do him no harm at all...

He looked at Kellie.

She was standing in front of him with her fingers stretched out, frozen in the split second he had taken the watch from her. She was looking at him, but not seeing him because this was hyper time and this moment was something she would know _nothing_ about...

He checked the watch: forty seconds left...

_"I think you're beautiful."_ He whispered, then stepped closer and cautiously ran his hand over her blonde hair.

Then he thought about what he was about to do and felt slightly guilty.

"Oh man I don't believe I'm taking advantage of hyper time like this!" He exclaimed.

Then he looked at her again, reminding himself she would _never_ know about this...

Then he placed his hand on her cheek and leaned in and gently kissed her.

He quickly pulled back and felt surprised that he had allowed himself to do that to her – _but she would never know about it anyway..._

The watch bleeped and the moment was over, the world switched back to real time and Kellie blinked.

"Give it back!" She said, "I was only looking at it!"

For a few seconds it was difficult to look her in the eye because she had no idea she had just been kissed.

"Earl," She said, "Just let me look at it! You're as bad as Zak; my brother never let me play with it either!"

He held up the watch.

"This," He told her firmly, "Is _not_ a toy! It's a very serious piece of technology. It's not for fooling around with."

And as he spoke he was sure he was blushing because that stolen kiss was still on his mind, so he put the watch on the table and sat down again and began to carefully take it apart.

Kellie sat down too and watched him work.

"What are you doing to the watch?" She wondered.

Earl lifted off the watch face and showed her the technology hidden inside it.

"This is all I need- the inside of the watch. I can reprogram it to run backwards and alter the timer so it runs for twelve hours."

And he turned his attention back to the inner workings of the watch.

"Twelve hours," Kellie wondered, "_Backwards?_ Why?"

Earl looked up, carefully putting down the inside of the watch because he didn't want to mess up the most vital piece of programming that he needed if his plan was going to succeed – and Kellie's questions were distracting him now.

"Because that's all I need to reverse my molecular damage."

"You're planning on spending twelve hours in that chamber? Won't that be dangerous?"

"Not according to my calculations, Kellie. It won't make me any younger but it will reverse the damage I've sustained internally and twelve hours will be enough to reverse it. I'll look and feel a lot better and the results should last around seven days –"

Kellie stared at him.

"It's only going to work for a week? What's the point, that's not a cure –"

Earl held his hand up to silence her.

"Just let me finish explaining. It _is_ a cure but I'll have repeat the process, probably forever. I'll need to stay in the chamber once a week for twelve hours, I'll do it at night so I can sleep through it."

"Will it hurt?"

He saw the concern in her eyes and wished he could kiss her all over again.

"No, it's painless. And because the environment is contained I'll be spending twelve hours in there but in real time but it won't seem that way – to you I'll be in and out of there in an hour or even less."

She looked into his eyes.

"Are you sure this is safe, because you've made too many mistakes with this kind of stuff!"

"Yes I am sure; I know what I'm doing. I've had a long time to think about this and work on my theories. And when I've got it working and I'm okay again I'm going to write a safety manual with recommendations the safe use of hyper time - just in case the government ever decide to put it to use. I don't think they'll ever fix the ageing glitch but I don't want anyone else suffering like me or your father, so that's what I'm going to do about it."

Kellie felt surprised that Earl was suddenly so concerned about other people- back in the days when his priority had been trying to mess around with time to get back to his true age she had thought all he cared about was himself. Yet again, she realised she had been wrong about him and now she was getting to know him properly with the quarrels of the past behind them, she found her feelings for him were rapidly deepening.

"That's a good idea." She replied, "Maybe I can help you with that too."

Then she remembered why she was back down here in the basement.

"So what _can_ I help you with, Earl?"

He glanced over at the chamber.

"You see that control panel over there? Well I _don't_ want you to touch it. Don't touch _anything_ I'm working on because my life depends on this stuff- especially the inside of that watch, I can't tell you how important that is to the whole project."

"I know that, I understand! I won't touch the watch again."

As he looked at Kellie his vision blurred and he blinked a couple of times.

"There's a recording device next to the control panel. I need some verbal responses programmed in so my machine can speak to me. It's just occurred to me that I'd really like it to have a nice voice-_ your_ voice..."

And Kellie smiled at him again.

"Okay, what do you need me to say?"

"There's a list of stuff I need the machine to tell me – like when I'm in hyper time, when I'm out of it again, how long it's been activated, there's a list written down on a piece of paper in there. Just hit the record button and speak into the machine. I'll program it in later on. I'll need you to make up the first one yourself - just something to say the chamber's sealed." He thought about it and laughed. "It doesn't matter what you say – _chamber sealed, night night, Dopler_ – say anything you want, I'll leave that one to you."

Then he got up, leaning on the table as weakness seemed to sweep over him without warning.

"I'm tired, Kellie. I'm going upstairs to have a lie down."

"Do you need some help?"

That concerned look was back in her eyes and he felt sure if she kept looking at him in that way eventually he would have to kiss her again – _and not when he was in hyper time, this time she would know about it.._.

The thought of kissing her again was becoming hard to resist but Earl felt weak and tired and that was the only reminder he needed that right now there was only one thing that ought to be on his mind - sleep and rest.

"Don't worry about me." He told her, "I'll see you later on; I just need to get some sleep."

As he said those words he sounded exhausted and as Kellie looked at him she noticed how weak he seemed all of a sudden.

"Earl?"

He had turned towards the stairs, but looked back as she said his name.

Kellie hurried over to him and put her arms around him, hugging him tightly.

He gently put his arms around her and briefly returned the embrace, then pulled back because he knew how tired he was - and there would be nothing romantic about taking Kellie in his arms, kissing her and then passing out on the floor because he was feeling so exhausted.

"I'll get those voice recordings done for you." She told him, "And don't worry; I won't touch anything else. Just get some sleep, Earl."

"I'll do that." He said quietly, then he went up the stairs and left the basement.

Kellie stood at the bottom of the stairs and wished there was more she could do; it made her heart ache to think that he was so sick and there was so little she could do about it, but Earl understood the cause of his problem better than anyone else and he was the only one who could fix the problem, so that left her with little option but to simply be there for him and be as helpful as she could.

Then she went over to the chamber and looked inside. She found the paper with the list of messages that needed to be recorded and then she remembered what he'd said about how she could say what she liked to indicate the chamber was sealed.

She smiled as she thought about it..._ Night night, Dopler?_ No. She had a better idea...

Kellie leaned closer to the microphone built in next to the open panel, pressed the button and spoke into it:

_"Good night, sweetheart,"_ She said softly, _"I love you..."_

* * *

><p>Francesca had picked her daughter up from school and Maria was playing outside in the garden now, she was bouncing a ball against the wall and catching it more times than missing it, but as the ball hit the window loudly and bounced off Francesca decided to put a stop to it.<p>

"That's enough." She told her, "Go and do something else, honey."

"Why?" Maria demanded.

"Because you might break a window. And it's a very noisy game, too. And Earl needs a lot of peace and quiet."

"Why?" The little girl said again.

Francesca looked at her daughter and realised she had some explaining to do about why Daddy's friend had come to stay – Maria was too young to understand why he was sick and she didn't remember her Grandfather or what had happened to him, so as she saw the questioning look in her daughter's eyes she struggled to find the right words.

She had always believed honesty was the best policy when it came to telling children as much as they needed to know in a way they could understand – but she didn't want to sugar coat the truth and make statements that could prove false and say Earl was sick but would definitely get better, because she wasn't sure of that herself.

"Earl's not very well." She told her daughter, "And he has work to do but he needs to sleep a lot too."

"What's the matter with him?" She wondered, "Will he get better soon?"

"I don't know." Francesca said honestly, "I hope so – we all want him to get better. But we have to take care of him a little bit, make sure he has peace and quiet because he needs a lot of rest."

Maria thought about it for a moment.

"Okay." She said, "I'll play on my swing."

Then she ran off across the lawn.

Francesca stood there for a moment and watched her playing.

Then Jenny came out into the garden.

"Did Maria have a good day at school?"

Francesca nodded and as she smiled at her, Jenny noticed the sparkle was back in her eyes.

"And I take it you've had a good day too – you've had that talk with my son?"

"Yes, we talked. And I'm happy to say I can see your point, Jenny – Zak told me himself; he'll never do anything stupid and wreck what we have. He told me his family comes first, I believe him. I guess I should have known it in the first place but you know what I'm like for worrying."

Jenny let the subject go, feeling relieved she had been right about her son.

"Where is Zak?" She wondered.

"At work." She told her, "He had to go in and finish off some paperwork. I made that sale for him this morning, he was pleased about that. How are Kellie and Earl getting on?"

"She went down to the basement to help him out a few hours ago."

"A few _hours_ ago?" Francesca said in surprise, "What are they doing down there? I hope they're not killing each other!"

Jenny laughed.

"No, they're getting on well. Kellie's still down there, she's helping with something." Then Jenny's smile faded. "Earl went upstairs about an hour ago. He needed to sleep. He told me he was okay but he didn't look too good, he seemed exhausted."

And once again Jenny noticed Francesca's eyes clouded with worry. She guessed she was worried for Earl _and_ for how Zak was really taking all this, despite the promises he had made.

"I'm sure Earl's going to be just fine." She reminded her, "He knows when he needs to take it easy. And I expect Zak will be down there helping him with everything once he's got work out of the way."

"I know he will." Francesca replied, then she remembered the promise Zak had made her and she shrugged off her worries, knowing that she had to start trusting her husband at some point and if she didn't have a little bit of faith in him now, then she probably never would...

* * *

><p>The basement door opened and Kellie stepped out. She saw her Mom and Francesca standing outside near the back door and went over to them.<p>

She looked at her Mom and then Francesca and smiled.

"I've just been doing something for Earl. I've finished now. I might go upstairs and let him know it's all done."

And Jenny smiled back at her, glad to see that her daughter was clearly getting on very well with Dr Dopler these days.

As Kellie left the room Francesca looked at Zak's Mom in surprise.

"She seems a little bit flushed, did you notice that? "

"Yes I did."

"Do you think Kellie and Earl might get together?"

Jenny thought back to the time long ago when they used to quarrel and fight like cat and dog. It was clear they had sorted out their differences now.

"I'd say that's a very strong possibility!" She said brightly, "I think if it happens it could be what they both need."

"I think you could be right." Francesca replied, "It wouldn't be a bad thing at all..."

* * *

><p>Kellie went up the stairs and quietly pushed open Earls bedroom door.<p>

Then she stood there in the doorway and looked at him. She had planned to tell him she had finished giving a voice to the computer, but he was fast asleep on top of the bed, lying on his side. He was fully dressed and hadn't even kicked off his shoes. A warm breeze was coming in through the window but Earl was sweating and the breeze made him shiver.

Kellie went over to a box at the foot of the bed and took out a blanket. She draped it over him carefully and Earl turned over, pulled it tighter and then breathed easily as the chills left him, but he did not wake.

Kellie closed the window and then sat down on the edge of his bed, deciding it was better if she stayed because he was sick and maybe when he woke up he wouldn't want to be alone – at least, that was the excuse she had given herself. The truth was she had taken one look at him lying there and been reminded of how sick her father had been; he had often felt weak and gone to bed and slept for hours while he trembled just like Earl did. As she watched him sleeping a sudden fear gripped her as she wondered if he would have enough time left to finish his invention: _How long would long enough be?_

She looked at the table next to the bed. Next to the bedside lamp were several bottles of pills. She wondered how long he could keep going by sleeping and self medicating to handle his condition; there was no way of knowing just how long he could last like this before he grew too sick to handle it by himself - and then what would happen? Would he get taken off to a research centre where the doctors would try anything and everything to keep him alive, not knowing how to handle his condition, treating him like an experiment?_ No._ Kellie blocked out those thoughts because the possibility scared her...Earl had to finish his project and it had to work for him that was the only way it could be – it was all she could hope for.

She reached out and ran her hand over his damp hair, drawing her hand back again as he opened his eyes.

"What are you doing in here?" He wondered, still sounding as sleepy as he looked.

"I finished the voice recordings. I just wanted to let you know that."

Earl frowned as he looked up at her.

"You woke me up just to tell me about the recordings?"

"I thought you'd like to know."

"Well thanks for that - now I'm going back to sleep."

And Earl turned over, turning his back on her, gave a sigh and settled down beneath the covers again.

"Can I get you anything?" She offered.

"Yeah, I could sure use some _peace and quiet,_ Kellie!"

"Okay, I'll let you sleep! Sorry for waking you."

Earl gave another sigh and said nothing more.

Kelly left the room, closing the door quietly and suddenly feeling nervous about the message she had left for him- maybe showing her feelings like that would be the _last_ thing he wanted to hear- but it was too late now; she had left the message and all she could do was wait...

* * *

><p>When the warm afternoon gave way to dusk, Francesca sat in the garden with Zak.<p>

They were on the patio and Zak was drinking coffee instead of beer and Francesca felt relieved to see him doing that. Maria was already asleep and Jenny was indoors watching TV. Francesca had no idea where Kellie was but she guessed she was probably still upstairs, no doubt checking on Earl every so often just to make sure he was okay.

_"I think your sister likes Earl."_

Zak put his coffee down on the table and relaxed on the patio chair. His gaze was far off towards the end of the garden but she guessed he wasn't looking at the garden; his thoughts were back in the past again, probably with his father.

"She always did like him," He replied vaguely, "It was only that stupid quarrel that made them fall out."

_"And I think he likes her too."_

Francesca looked at Zak, smiling as her words sunk in and she saw the surprised look on his face.

"You think so?"

"I've got a feeling about those two. Don't be surprised if they get together pretty soon."

Zak shook his head.

"No, I don't think that's going to happen. Earls got too much on his mind to think about Kellie."

"But maybe later on when he's better..."

"I can't think that far ahead." Zak replied, "I'm taking this one day at a time. I don't know how any of this will turn out in the end for him. All I know is that I hope he's going to be okay."

"We have to try and think positive." Francesca reminded him.

Then Zak smiled as their eyes met.

"Do you still think about what we did ten years ago?"

"Sure I do; it's something I'll never forget."

Francesca had stated it as a plain fact; if Henry Gates had wound up with the power of hyper time at his fingertips it would have been a disaster, he would have taken over the world. But as she looked at Zak she saw a playful sparkle in his eyes.

"It was the biggest adventure of my life and it all started because Earl sent my Dad the watch! I'll always think about it – because it was so much fun!"

Francesca looked at him intently;_ his words had reminded her of a conversation she had shared with his Mom a while back about how guys always seemed to have a part of them that never really grew up, boys would be boys, always looking for an adventure..._

"Zak, we were _teenagers_ back then!"

He had missed the serious tone in her voice.

"I know! And it was great; I saved my Dad, I saved the world too - it was the most exciting thing that ever happened to me in my whole life!"

Then he gave a sigh and to his wife's dismay Zak had a far off look in his eyes as if yearning for the past.

"What?" He asked, noticing her stony expression, "What did I say that was so bad? I'd go off and save the word again if I had the chance - wouldn't you want to do the same?"

_"No, Zak!"_ She said sharply, "I would _not_ want to do those things now – I wouldn't take a risk with my life because I have a _child_ to think of – and so do you! Of course we saw it as an adventure back then –we were little more than kids at the time! We had no real sense of danger in those days. Don't you ever stop and wonder how things might have turned out if Earl hadn't come back to help us out? What would have happened to us if he hadn't shot Gates out of hyper time? I'll tell you what would have happened, Gates would have got away with everything and had us both_ killed!_"

"But it didn't happen that way, we beat the bad guys – _we won!_"

_"Bad guys?"_ She exclaimed, "Zak, you're talking like you're still in your teens! It was _dangerous_ back then but we were too young to realise how _much_ danger we were in. And I can't believe you'd do it all over again if you had the chance – we have a family now, our priorities have changed! Life is too precious for you to be wishing you could be out there flirting with danger!"

Zak heard every word she had just said but he still didn't think of it in the way she did – Francesca had made a point when she said their priorities had changed, he knew that, he was a family man now – but it didn't mean he couldn't look back and feel proud of his adventures.

"I guess this quarrel is pointless." He told her, "Because nothing like that will _ever_ happen again."

Francesca spoke quietly, holding back her anger.

"If you ever went off on some crazy adventure again, Zak Gibbs I'd never forgive you! I'm your wife and we have a daughter- we should be your priority. I can't believe you'd risk your life all over again if you got the chance!"

Zak had finished his coffee and he slowly turned the cup around on the saucer, watching it turn as the china caught the last ray of light from the sinking sun.

Francesca still sounded hurt.

_"If you did that I'd never forgive you. I'd leave you!"_

And Zak laughed.

Francesca's eyes were blazing now.

He leaned closer to her.

"As if it could ever happen again!" He said, and gave her a kiss.

She saw the look in his eyes and her own expression softened.

Francesca started to smile, guessing it was pointless to quarrel about a situation that was long over happening again – it was extremely unlikely and Zak knew that.

"I get your point. Of _course_ it couldn't happen again."

Then her smile faded as she thought about the legacy of Zak's adventure- his father was gone and now Earl was sick too... _Maybe time was something that wasn't meant to be messed around with..._

"What's the matter now?" Zak wondered.

She shook her head.

"Nothing." She replied, "I was just thinking – probably too deeply and too much."

Zak caught hold of her hand and gave it a squeeze.

"Lets not talk about the past any more. I think we should just sit out here, enjoy the evening and then go to bed and have an early night."

"Now that _is_ a good idea." Francesca said warmly, and for a while, the quarrel was forgotten.

* * *

><p>Earl woke up sharply and sat up, grabbed the clock next to the bed and checked the time and then he wished he had thought to ask Kellie to wake him again after a couple of hours. He hadn't meant to sleep all the way around to nine pm and as his thoughts started to move a little faster he guessed it wouldn't hurt to go back down to the basement and do some more work.<p>

He got up and the room span around.

Earl leaned against the wall and took in a deep breath, wishing he could fight off his unsteadiness. He made his way to the bathroom and splashed his face with cold water, then he looked in the mirror and felt sure he could see the shadows under his eyes deepening with every passing day.

_"I feel like shit!"_ He told his reflection, then he grabbed a towel and dried his face and went back into the bedroom.

He thought about a change of clothes because he needed it, then he thought about going down to the basement - but he felt so tired all he could do was climb back onto his bed.

Earl had known times like this before, he had good days and bad ones and right now he was sure he _definitely_ felt too weak to go down to the basement.

He grabbed a pen and some paper and leaned on his pillows as he started to work on a formula that he hadn't finished.

As the pen scratched across the paper he felt a growing sense of urgency to finish everything before it was too late.

Then the door opened.

Earl looked up sharply, dropping the pen as his concentration was torn away from his work.

"Haven't you heard of knocking?" He snapped, "I was working on something, Kellie!"

"Sorry." She said, "I just wanted to see if you were okay."

Then she closed the door and walked over to the bed and sat down.

She didn't care how intent he was on working tonight; Earl looked terrible. He was pale and his hair was damp with sweat.

"I don't think you should be working on anything tonight." She told him, "You're sick, you need to rest –"

"I'm sick and I need to finish what I'm working on before it's too late!" He said anxiously, glancing down at the formula he had scribbled onto the paper, "I can't just leave it and say to myself, _No worries dude, it'll keep until tomorrow!_"

He grabbed the pen and looked back at the formula but wrote nothing down, instead looking back at Kellie.

"I'm scared, Kellie. I don't know how long I have to finish this thing. I don't even know if I'll be around long enough to finish it!"

As Kellie took the pen from him she noticed his hand was shaking.

"Stop." She said quietly, "You can't work tonight, not like this. You're weak, you need to get some rest."

As he looked into her eyes he knew she was right.

He nodded.

"Okay, I'll go back to bed. I can't write this stuff out tonight any way; I'm too screwed up right now. I just feel like I need to be doing something."

"Sure you do - and you can do it tomorrow, after you've had some more rest."

Kellie pushed him back gently onto the pillows and put the blanket over him. He made no attempt to stop her; he was aching all over and he knew it made sense to rest, even though it was the last thing he wanted to be doing.

"Thanks." He said quietly, "You_ are_ right – I do need to rest."

Kellie thought about the message she had left him on the recording.

"Have you been up here the whole time or did you check out my recording?" She wondered.

Earl looked up at her; she was so pretty and if he wasn't feeling so lousy he was sure he would have made a move on her by now. It wasn't every day he met a hottie like Kellie and it was his own bad luck that they had started to get closer at a time like this, when his time could be running out. He didn't want her to know he had spent most of the day sleeping, so he decided to lie about it.

"Sure I did. I got up a little while ago and did some more work, not for long - but I _did_ check out your recording. "

Kellie looked into his eyes, unsure of what to say. "And?" She asked him carefully.

"Thanks." He said, "You did a good job."

Confusion clouded her eyes.

_"And?"_

"And if I can think of anything else you can help me with I'll let you know. Now I'd better get some sleep. See you in the morning, Kellie."

Then Earl turned his back on her and settled down to rest.

Kellie stood there for a moment feeling speechless.

"Did you listen to the recording, I mean _really_ listen properly?" She wondered.

Earl gave a sigh. He was more concerned with finishing the machine and getting it working; playing back Kellie's voice was the _last_ thing on his list of priorities - but he didn't want her to think he was ungrateful.

"Yeah, I listened to it. And I appreciate your help. Now I _really_ need to get some rest!"

He still had his back to her and couldn't see the tears that had formed in her eyes.

"Okay." Her voice was barely above a whisper, "I'll see you in the morning."

Then she went across the hall to her own room, wondering how Earl could be so insensitive. She knew he was sick and he was working hard on his machine and she was sure that had to be the most important thing to him right now – but she had told him she loved him and he was acting like what she said meant _nothing_ to him at all... it didn't make sense, she had felt so sure that he liked her, that he felt the same way she did – she swore she had seen it in his eyes when they had embraced in the basement...

She just didn't know what to think - except that she knew for sure his reaction had hurt her feelings.

Kellie went to bed and then gave a quiet sob, and not for the first time in her life, cried into her pillow over Dr Earl Dopler.

* * *

><p>When Zak woke up in the morning he slid his arm around Francesca and gave her a gentle kiss.<p>

She slowly opened her eyes and then smiled and returned the favor, kissing him slowly and deeply as he pulled her closer.

"I'm staying home today." He informed her.

_"Then we can get up later..."_

Zak kissed her again, feeling an ache as he ran his hands over her body beneath the sheets. Last night had been so good but this morning was all planned out and he wasn't going to waste time in bed when he could be helping his best friend down in the basement.

"No, I can't stay in bed." He told her, "I'm down the basement today – I'm helping Earl. I've finally got work tied up for a few days so I can afford to have the time at home to do this. I'm getting up right now."

And he slipped out of her embrace and got out of bed.

Francesca gave a sigh of frustration as she watched her husband walk naked to the bathroom.

"I might just decide to drag you back to bed!" She said teasingly.

Zak paused and looked back at her.

"That sounds like a fun game!" He said as his eyes sparkled, "Maybe we can play that one another time... But at least we had last night; I guess I just wasn't enough for you, it's not me, its_ you_ – you're insatiable!"

Francesca smiled.

"Can you blame me? I can't keep my hands off you!" She exclaimed.

Then he laughed and went into the bathroom, thinking that after knowing the same girl for ten years and knowing she still loved him and wanted him as much as ever, he had to be one hell of a lucky guy...

Moments later as Zak stood under the warm shower, Francesca joined him.

She wrapped her arms around him and they kissed under the running water.

"You'll have to be a_ tiny_ bit late..." She murmured.

"This is something I can't say no to!" He told her, then he held her tighter and she gasped as her back pressed against the tiled wall and he kissed her again, running his hands over her wet skin as he began to make love to her all over again.

* * *

><p>Kellie was at the breakfast table with Maria and Jenny.<p>

"I was up before you!" Maria said.

"You're _always_ up early!" Jenny told her granddaughter.

"Well I was probably up first." Kellie remarked, "I barely slept last night."

And Jenny looked across the table and caught the look in her eyes.

"What's the matter, honey?"

Kellie gave a sigh.

"I don't actually know." She told her mother, "I left..."

She glanced at Maria who was eating her breakfast and then looked back at her mother, deciding to put this in a way that her niece would not understand.

"I left a special message when I did those recordings for Earl and when I asked him if he liked it he just said thanks for the help and he acted like he'd never even heard exactly what I said."

Jenny thought about how tired he had been the day before.

"Maybe he didn't have time to listen to it properly, he had a bad day, he was exhausted –"

She stopped talking as the door opened and Earl walked into the room.

He looked at the people sitting at the table and smiled.

"Morning." He said, then he took a seat next to Kellie.

Kellie got up abruptly.

"I'm going out for a while." She said quickly, and left the room.

As she walked out, Zak and Francesca walked in.

Zak stared after his sister, catching the look on her face as she passed him.

Then as the front door slammed he turned back to Earl.

"Have you two been fighting _again?_"

Suddenly Earl was only too aware that the whole family was looking at him accusingly.

He looked Zak right in the eye.

"Dude, I have _not_ been fighting with your sister! I don't know what's up with her, why pin the blame on me?"

Jenny spoke up, hoping she wasn't saying too much about something that was private in front of the rest of the family.

"She did mention something to me about maybe you didn't check _all_ of the recording she made for you. Maybe you should listen to it – _after_ Zak's finished helping you in the basement today."

Her remark confused him; it was only a voice recording...

"I don't get it, Mrs G. She's making such a big deal out of it; I've got more important things to be doing than listening to a few recordings right now!"

"Just take five minutes to listen to it later on, then maybe you can tell her what she wants to hear." Jenny replied.

While Earl was wondering exactly what was so special about Kellie's recording, Maria reached across the table, spilled a glass of orange juice and Jenny mopped up the mess as Francesca frantically tried to clean the stain off the sleeve of her daughter's school uniform, then the discussion was dropped and the subject was changed.

* * *

><p>After breakfast Francesca drove Maria to school and Zak wasted no time, going straight down to the basement to help Earl finish building the chamber.<p>

When he stood in the middle of the room where his father used to spend so much time he looked around at the boxes and the tools and everything else that Earl had brought down here and wondered where he was supposed to start.

"What do you need me to do?" He asked him.

"I'm going to copy the recordings in so the computer has a voice, it won't take long. I'm sure Kellie did a good job but I'll listen to it later on, I don't need to waste time playing around with that once it's in the system. I've got some wiring to finish off and I need you to finish off the actual chamber for me. It's just a few pieces of metal that need welding."

"I can do that." Zak replied as Earl handed him a blow torch and a welder's mask.

Then he looked at the metal chamber and wondered exactly how much work it would take for the invention to become functional.

"So how long will it take to get it up and running?" He asked him.

"I've got to finish fixing the hyper time technology I took out of the watch so it runs the way I want it to." Earl told him, "I've been trying to get the formula right for days. Then I woke up this morning and made some notes and I finally got it. So if we finish up today I'll test the mechanics of it tomorrow and then put in the final piece of wiring that powers up the hyper time element. Once that's done I have to leave it alone for twenty four hours - _but after that I'm testing it._"

Zak stared at him.

_"Three days?"_

"That's right, dude. Three days from now my problems should be over."

"Let's get to work." Zak said.

He went over to the chamber and began to set up the blow torch.

As he worked he felt as if the worry that had been weighing him down was finally lifting – because it seemed as if things were looking brighter at last, because three days from now, Earl's worries could be over. Zak kept that thought in mind as he worked, feeling a spark of hope that glowed brighter in his mind than the burst of light that flashed out of the torch as he welded the metal: _It would soon be over and then this machine would be working and Earl would be okay, which meant for Zak everything would be okay again because he wouldn't lose his best friend..._


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

It was late at night by the time Zak left the basement.

He had worked through the whole day, finishing off the last of the welding and then moving the chamber closer to the wall, then fixing up pipes and other parts that he didn't understand, but he just followed Earl's instructions as he worked.

Earl had left him to carry on with it in the middle of the afternoon and gone upstairs to rest. Two hours later he had come back and finished off the programming, then he had left again, just before seven in the evening because he needed to sleep again and this time he looked exhausted.

When Zak had finally finished everything that needed to be done he was sure he felt exhausted too – but he _had_ worked into the night without stopping.

Tomorrow Earl planned to check the basics of the machine to make sure everything functioned and then he would connect the hyper time element and leave it to power up for twenty four hours. They were so close to seeing the end to all his problems, but Zak knew he wouldn't feel sure about that until Earl had tested out his machine and got the result he needed. Two days, that was all it would take now – but to Zak it felt like the hours would drag by and make it seem more like two weeks...he just wanted the wait to be _over._

When he got into bed Francesca was already sleeping.

She moved closer to the warmth of his body and murmured something that he didn't catch, then she held on to him and carried on sleeping while Zak lay there, wide awake in the darkness as he thought about Earl's invention and hoped that it would work...

* * *

><p>Next morning Earl woke up at five am as the alarm clock bleeped and dragged him out of a deep sleep that he wished he could cling to for a little while longer. Then he remembered today was the day he needed to finish up work on the machine- because as soon as the hyper time element was wired up, he only had to wait another twenty four hours to find out if his plans would succeed.<p>

He showered and dressed and went quietly downstairs while everyone else in the house was still sleeping, then he switched on the light and went into the basement and closed the door.

As he walked down the stairs his mind was still fixed on everything he had left to do – he knew there was a small chance the whole thing might fail, but he couldn't let himself think about that. He was _so_ close now; in just over twenty four hours from the time he put in the final connection he hoped he would be celebrating his success, with all the damage he'd suffered in hyper time left far behind him...

He went over to the chamber and pressed a button on the outside panel. The chamber swung open.

"Chamber is accessed." Said Kellie's voice.

"I know." Earl said quietly as he lay down inside it. "But does it _work_ the way it should?"

He wondered if maybe he should have told someone he was doing this; there was no way to be sure the release button worked until he tried it from the inside and when this chamber was shut it wouldn't open again from the inside if the release failed – it could only be opened on the _outside_ by an emergency lever...

He thought about getting up again and waiting until Zak or Kellie had got up so they could help if he got stuck. Then he changed his mind, deciding caution had never been part of his plans when it came to messing around with new inventions and it was a bit too late to change his ways now.

_"Seal chamber."_ He said, sounding as nervous as he felt.

The metal lid swung shut.

Earl took in a shaky breath as it dawned on him that being sealed in here felt uncomfortable. He could hear nothing from the outside at all, he was locked in silence and he needed to hear something to remind him he was not alone.

"Confirm status of chamber." He said.

Kellie's voice came through loud and clear:

"Goodnight, sweetheart." She said softly.

Earl smiled.

"That's nice." He said as he closed his eyes and wondered if he could ever get comfortable in this chamber.

Then Kellie spoke up again.

_"I love you."_

Earl opened his eyes

"What?" He said aloud, wondering if he'd heard that wrong and gave the command again.

"Confirm status of chamber?"

"Good night sweetheart." Kellie repeated. Then there was a pause.

_"I love you."_ She said again.

Earl lay there in the sealed unit thinking about what he had just heard; now everything made perfect sense – _of course she was upset, he had lied and said he had listened to the recording –no wonder she was mad at him!_ Earl's heart was beating faster as he thought about it all: Kellie loved him, she loved him and she wouldn't love him for much longer if he didn't put this right...

Suddenly he wondered if he should just go straight up to her room right now and tell her the truth and leave the chamber until later. But then he remembered he couldn't afford to change his priorities right now; he had to finish checking everything first and then finish off the wiring...

"Slow down, man." He said quietly, "Finish your work first... _then_ go and get the girl!"

And then he finished running through a of list of safety checks, which took even longer than he expected it to - because he kept thinking of Kellie and kept checking on the chamber's status, just so that he could hear her say those three words all over again...

* * *

><p>It was almost noon and Kellie was sitting in the garden.<p>

She was reading a magazine and trying to relax in the sun while she tried to stop thinking about how Earl had brushed her aside so harshly, but it wasn't easy. It still hurt and she still felt like going back upstairs and stopping there until her tears ran out or her feelings for the guy faded away – but since neither was likely to happen any time soon, she guessed she just had to live with it.

But living with it was harder than she had expected it to be. In some ways it reminded her of how things were ten years before, when she felt the first pain of a teenage crush rejected. But it was worse now because she was a grown woman and knew the difference between a crush and something far deeper; now she was old enough to understand what _real_ heartbreak felt like...

Kellie put the magazine down on the table and leaned back on the chair and looked at the empty lawn and gave a sigh.

Heartbreak was difficult enough to live with at the best of times, but everything seemed that little bit better when the house was full. But her Mom had gone into town and Zak and Francesca had gone with her and Maria was at school, so all she had for company was the silence and her own aching heart that she was trying to ignore.

Then she heard Earl say her name.

Kellie looked at him sharply, feeling surprised he had bothered to come out here to speak to her after making it clear he wasn't interested.

"Hi." He said nervously, "I need to talk to you –"

_"Don't bother."_

She made a move to get up but he sat down beside her and grabbed hold of her hand.

"What are you doing?"

Earl saw the confusion in her eyes and it made his feelings of guilt weigh even heavier; now he was up close to her he could see with one glance that she had been crying recently – and he knew why, it was entirely his fault.

"Please don't get up and walk away." He said to her, "Just hear me out – _I lied._"

She looked back at him feeling bewildered.

"About what?"

"The recording. I didn't want you to think I hadn't bothered to check it out, so I said I listened to it. I didn't, I was too tired that day, so I didn't bother to play it back."

He kept hold of her hand, avoiding her gaze for a moment, then he looked into her eyes once more.

_"But I have now. I heard every word of it."_

He hadn't let go of her hand.

Kellie felt tearful all over again but managed it hold it back as she wondered if he was going to turn her down yet again.

"You don't sound too thrilled about it." She said quietly, "Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut."

"No, I just need to explain something to you."

Kellie thought about pulling away from his grip because she was convinced he was trying to let her down gently, but as she made the slightest movement to draw back he kept a tight hold on her hand.

"Either you feel the same way as me, or you don't." She said.

Earl felt sure if Kellie thought she was heartbroken she was wrong - because_ nothing_ could hurt more than the pain he felt as he tried to explain how things stood...

"When I came back here, when I first saw you, I _know_ how I felt. And nothing changes that, Kellie! But right now I'm not in a position to offer you the kind of relationship you deserve – not right at this moment. Twenty four hours from now, if my machine works, things could be different. But I'm not going to lie to you and say I know for sure everything will be okay. That's why I won't take you in my arms and makes promises I can't keep – that's the only reason why I won't be with you - because you deserve more than I can offer you...unless of course you're into potentially short relationships!"

As he spoke there was sadness in his eyes but Earl managed to smile.

"I'm crazy about you Kellie. Ever since I came back here all I've been thinking about is you. But I can't do a thing about it unless I know I've got some kind of future –because if I haven't got a future it's just not fair on you."

Kellie blinked back tears.

"I know what you're saying but I've loved you for a very long time. Even if the machine doesn't work I still want to be with you – I want us to make the most of the time we have left."

Earl fell silent for a moment as he thought about the risk he was going to take in just over twenty four hour's time. He knew how she felt now and it seemed best to be honest and tell her the whole truth.

"If I don't use the chamber I'll die just like your father did. I have no choice. _But if I use the chamber and it doesn't work the way I'm hoping it will, the process will probably kill me anyway._"

Kellie stared at him. As she spoke her voice was hushed; what he had just told her had shocked her.

"Does Zak know that?"

Earl shook his head.

"Nobody knows except you and me. And that's the way I want to keep it. I have nothing left to lose and this is the only chance I have left. So now you know the situation I hope you understand why I won't take you upstairs right now and show you how much you mean to me."

As she looked into his eyes she saw so much pain she just wanted to hold on to him, to put her arms around him and never let go. But Earl was determined to be strong about this and she didn't want to do anything that might make his resolve crumble. He was still sitting close to her, still holding her hand and she guessed this was all she could have – for now, maybe _forever_ unless things went the way he had planned them...

"So it looks like I left it too late."

She blinked to clear her vision and thought about how different things could have been.

"Maybe I should have looked you up a couple of years ago. I thought about it, but I didn't do it because I remembered the quarrel we had and I thought maybe you hated me-"

_"I never hated you!"_

He had said that with such conviction that it sounded almost like a reminder of how much she really meant to him.

"I wish I'd known this a long time ago." She told him, "But it's too late now, no time left to regret..."

Earl gave her hand a squeeze. There was a little sparkle of optimism in his eyes now as he got an idea and he started to explain, he seemed so hopeful she had almost stopped noticing the dark shadows under his eyes that reminded her how sick he really was.

"You never know- two days from now we could be looking back on this and remembering the day we fell in love, we could be looking back on this day as the start of our love story, because by then I could be fine and we could have a lifetime together to be looking forward to."

"I hope it works out that way."

"So do I!"

Earl moved a little closer to her. He still hadn't let go of her hand.

"I barely know anything about what's going on in your life, apart from the fact that you love me. So what else can you tell me, Kellie? I want to know all about you."

"But you already know me."

"No, I don't know you as you are today, not all grown up and living your life...but I _want_ to know."

Kellie smiled, wishing Earl would let go of her hand because she wanted to put both her arms around him and hug him forever.

"Well I left school and tried a couple of boring jobs and it didn't work out so I went back to college and now I'm studying to be a beauty therapist."

"I always wondered what you'd want to do when you got older." He replied.

"I also want to be my own boss." She said, "I don't want to work for any body else I want to have my own business. But I won't do that at the start, I'll work for someone else first, just for a little while so I can get some experience."

"What else have I missed by not seeing you for five years?" He asked her.

She couldn't really think of anything else to tell him that he didn't already know.

"I still have the same friends, I still live at home...that's about all there is to know. What about you, Earl?"

He thought about her question.

"You already know everything about me." He replied, "But there is _one_ thing I haven't told you – if I get this machine working and it fixes me the way I need it to I won't just be taking you in my arms and making up for lost time. I'll be thinking about you and me and our future together -_ because when I fall in love I get serious like that_."

As her eyes lit up Earl leaned a little closer and gave her a brief kiss.

Their lips touched and she wanted more but he quickly pulled away again, because now was _not_ the right time; he never knew if he would ever see the day when the right time came, but he was sure in his heart it wouldn't be fair to show her the kind of love she wanted when he couldn't be sure if his own invention would be enough to save his life.

Kellie tried to change his mind one more time; that kiss had made her long for more.

"So why don't we make the most of the moment right now –"

"I said no! It's not as if the world could end tomorrow – not for you or anyone else – this is about _me_. I want to be sure of the future before I can think about sharing it with you. So let's just be close and keep things as they are until my problem is over, okay?"

She ached to hold him in her arms but as much as she ached for him in her body and her heart she knew what he said made sense: right now, the most important thing was getting the chamber working, getting his life back – _then_ he would be able to think about the rest of his life...

"I love you." She said again.

Earl felt his eyes sting with tears. Kellie had no idea how many times he had made that computer repeat her words just so he could hear her say it – but watching her say it to him while she was right in front of him made him realize just how much he did love her. He had been a man who had believed in science for all of his life but this feeling in his heart made him wonder if some things were truly written in the stars – maybe destiny, fate, whatever the dreamers of this word decided to call it were actually onto something that was very real – it certainly_ felt_ real to him at this moment.

"I love you too." He told her.

Their eyes locked and Earl gave into the moment, kissing her again and this time he hugged her too, but made it brief, pulling back from her quickly.

"I'd better go and get some rest." He said, "I'll see you later on."

Then he let go of her hand, got up and walked back into the house and didn't look back.

Kellie watched him leave and thought about everything he had said. She wanted to go into the house and follow him upstairs, go into his room and take him in her arms despite everything – but she knew how he wanted to do this and right now with so much uncertainty around him, she guessed he needed to feel in control, he needed to do this his way.

She missed him already but her heart didn't ache anymore - he had finally said it; _Earl loved her as much as she loved him and that was something she never thought she would hear him say..._

* * *

><p>When the family arrived home they all came home together, stopping off on the way back to pick up Maria from school. As the house filled with the usual sounds of talking and laughter and Maria playing in the garden it dawned on Kellie that she had stopped yearning for the sounds of their company the moment Earl told her he loved her - then she looked at each one of them and smiled, looking away again as she decided this was a secret she wanted to keep to herself - it was something so special that until the rest of the world could know, she wanted to hold it quietly inside her heart: <em>At last, at long last, Earl Dopler had fallen in love with her...<em>

"You're looking pleased with yourself." Her Mom remarked as she started to unpack the groceries.

Kellie smiled back at her.

Jenny spotted the look in her eyes and noticed her face had that flushed look again.

"Got something to tell me?" She wondered quietly.

Kellie blushed even harder.

"Not yet." She said, "But I'm happy..."

Then Zak's hand dived into the grocery bag and he took out a cake box.

"Zak!" His mother said, "Those are for _after_ dinner!"

He set the box down on the table and opened it, looking at the cakes then choosing a cream one as his eyes lit up.

"That's _my_ favorite!" Francesca said quickly, diving to snatch it from his hand.

Zak was too fast for her, catching her with his arm around her waist and pulling her closer but teasingly holding the cake just out of her reach.

She started to laugh.

"Give that back!"

"Okay..."

Zak handed her the cake, then playfully knocked it so the cream stuck to her cheek.

"Zak you big child!" She exclaimed.

"You love me really." He told her, "Admit it; you do love me..._and_ you're sharing that cake with me..."

Their eyes met and Francesca smiled.

"Okay," She said, "You can have some too."

And she giggled as she got him back, smearing cream on his cheek.

Jenny watched as the two of them kissed, both messy with food and she shook her head.

"I'm not so sure if he's the _only_ big kid around here!"

"She started it, Mom." Zak replied as he the wiped cream off.

"Liar!" Francesca said playfully, "It was_ you,_ Zak!"

_Then the doorbell rang._

Zak was still laughing – and grabbing what was left of the cake while Francesca wiped the cream off her face.

"I'll get the door." Jenny said.

She was still smiling as she thought about Zak and Francesca and the playful fight over the cake-but her smile faded as she opened the door and recognized the caller; _he was someone she would never forget._

He was older now but as he stood there and showed her his ID and asked if he could come in, she felt as if the last five years had fallen away and she was back at her husband's funeral, while he stood there and gave her his condolences. Then she thought back even further..._back to the beginning of it all..._

_"Agent Moore."_ She said in a hushed voice, _"What's this about?"_

He looked at Mrs Gibbs and wished he had never had to call on her family again, that he never had to deliver this news...he wished it as much as he wished he had not come out of retirement to handle this case, but under the circumstances there had been no real alterative...

"I really need to speak to your son." He informed her, "I'm sorry but this is urgent."

And feeling a creeping sense of unease at his sudden visit, Jenny stepped back quietly and Agent Moore went into the house.

* * *

><p>Francesca was still laughing as she kissed her husband again.<p>

"You're _crazy,_ Zak!"

"But I got the cake." He reminded her.

Then the door opened and his Mom walked into the kitchen.

He saw the serious look on her face and wondered what was wrong – then Agent Moore followed her in.

Zak stared at him.

Francesca's smile faded as she saw him standing there.

_"Agent Moore?"_ She said in disbelief, "What brings you here after all these years?"

Zak had already noticed the look in his eyes: this was _not_ a social visit...

"What's up?" He wondered.

Agent Moore looked at Zak Gibbs, who was ten years older than when they had first met; he was a man with a wife and a family too- and being aware of those facts didn't make this any easier.

"We need to talk." He said, "I'm sorry to say this is a very serious matter and I need to speak to you about it right now. Can we go and sit down?"

"Sure." Zak said, "Come with me."

Moments later they were in the front room, Moore was seated on an armchair and Zak and his wife and his Mom were on the sofa while Kellie stood nearby, nervously rubbing her hands together as wondered what the hell was going on.

Agent Moore took a deep breath and spelled out the facts.

"I realize this is unexpected and I can only apologize for that. I wasn't expecting to be asked to come out of retirement, either- but unfortunately I'm the _only_ man for the job because I've been there and handled it successfully before. A short while ago the hyper time watches were stolen from a secret military location –"

"Military?" Zak said in disbelief, "I thought they wanted to pull the plug on the project?"

"They did." Agent Moore replied, "But they didn't destroy them – they kept the watches and locked them away. But our security was infiltrated and the watches were stolen. Intelligence found out that the person responsible was a powerful business woman named Delphina Randall – she runs several research labs, the main one is close by – thirty miles away, to be exact. Our people found out she's working on a hyper time command centre and very soon it's going to be up and running – and then she's handing over the watches to her lover – who has links to terrorists in the Middle East."

"So why can't you just arrest him?" Zak wondered, "Won't that put an end to it?"

Agent Moore shook his head.

"We know all about the lover and his connections and my men are ready to swoop on him before he even gets to Randall. But we need a stealth operation to get inside the main lab and destroy what she's building and either get those watches back or destroy them too. But it's not easy – her main lab is secret, it's far below ground and she has a lot of heavily armed security, that's why we have to break through the ring of steel from the inside. That lab has to be destroyed before it's up and running because as soon as she realizes something's wrong she will be contacting her lover's associates and giving them the kind of information regarding technology that could still help them to bring down the western world. We have one of our best men going in there, he's a secret agent named Alchemy Fenmore. But it's been suggested that he's got more of a chance of success if two_ other_ people go in with him – _people who have been there before.._."

And as Moore looked at Zak, Francesca felt her blood run cold.

"Where is all this leading to?" She said quietly, "Why are you telling us all this?"

_"I think I know why."_

As he said those words, they all turned and looked towards the doorway.

Earl Dopler was standing there with his shirt creased and his hair slightly messed up from sleeping heavily and he had put on his shades to hide the shadows under his eyes. He was looking towards Zak now.

"Dude," He said, "I'm getting a _bad_ feeling about this..."

"So am I." Murmured Francesca as she recalled how Zak had admitted to longing for one more adventure.

"What I'm trying to explain," Moore said carefully, "Is we feel the operation has more chance of success if we send in two people who were highly effective in the last problem we had with the misuse of hyper time – you, Zak..."

And he glanced at Earl.

"And you, Dr Dopler, purely because you know all about the original project and you're the one who's most qualified to help take it apart again."

He was aware of the silence in the room as he paused to gather his thoughts. This had been the last thing either of them had been expecting to hear after all these years...

"No one can force you to agree to get involved." He reminded them, "But we stand a better chance of success if you both decide to do this. It's dangerous and I'm not going to lie and say there's no risk – there's a _great_ deal of risk involved. But the truths is, if we don't leave tomorrow and get you both in that place to stop this thing from happening, in less than two days we could be to late. If terrorists get their hands on the kind of working technology like Randall's building, it could be the end for all of us. The world is in danger; _all_ our lives are in danger. But the choice is yours - But I won't try and pressurize either of you. You're both civilians and its extremely dangerous and there would be a chance that one or maybe both of you wouldn't be getting out of there. _But please think about this because we need you, we need both of you._"

Earl ran his fingers though his hair and drew in a sharp breath.

"This is _not_ what I needed to hear right now..."

"How long do we have to think about it?" Zak wondered, and he kept his eyes on Moore because he heard Francesca give a gasp and he didn't need to look at her to see the hurt and anger in her eyes.

"Tomorrow morning." He said, "We can't delay – there's a tight window of opportunity to get this done and we can't change that."

Zak looked at Earl.

Earl looked back at Agent Moore.

_"I've got plans."_ He stated.

Then he took off his dark glasses and Agent Moore stared in shock at how sick Dr Dopler actually looked.

"You might as well know," Earl told him, "I've got Accelerated Molecular Disorder, the same thing that killed Zak's Dad. But I've built a machine to reverse the effects and twenty four hours from now I'm testing it out because it _could_ save my life. I don't have the time left or the energy to run around saving the world any more – right now I'm more concerned about saving _me._"

Zak looked at Francesca.

_"Don't you do this, Zak!"_ She said in a low voice, _"You have a family... stay with us,_ _we need you!_"

Agent Moore got up.

"I'm leaving now." He said, "And I'm sorry for coming here and breaking this news to you all. I'll be back tomorrow at nine am and if either of you can come with me that would certainly improve our chances of resolving this situation. But if you decide not to do it I'll understand that too."

There was a hushed silence in the room.

"I'll see myself out." He said quietly, and then he left them alone to make their decisions.

* * *

><p>As Agent Moore's car started up and began to pull out of the driveway, the silence in the front room was broken first by Francesca.<p>

She flipped her dark hair off her face and glared at Zak.

"Don't you even_ think_ about doing this, Zak Gibbs!" She said sharply, "He said it clearly – you don't _have_ to do this. And you are both civilians, this is more suited to trained professionals like Fenmore!"

Tears were making her dark eyes glassy as she looked at her husband, desperate to hear him tell her that her fears were unfounded.

"But you wouldn't go, right? You couldn't risk your life –not now you have me and your daughter! You wouldn't do that, would you Zak..."

But Zak was still sitting in silence, lost in deep thought.

Fear made Francesca's heart flutter and as her throat grew tight all trace of anger was sucked out of her the same way the air seemed to suck out of her lungs as it dawned on her that he was actually considering_ doing_ this...

It was getting hard to find her voice as she pictured Zak going off on one last crazy adventure, underestimating the danger and never coming back again.

"Zak? Please..._SAY_ something!"

Zak gave a sigh.

He looked up at his Mom, who sat there saying nothing – but the look in her eyes said she would understand whatever he chose to do, because if his father had been asked to do this, she knew his answer would have been _yes;_ George Gibbs would not have sat back and allowed science to be misused like hyper time was at risk of being used and he would have done all in is power to stop that from happening. _Zak was just like his Dad._ Jenny _knew_ what his answer would be.

Then Zak looked at Earl. He stood in the doorway looking back reluctantly at him.

"If I did this tomorrow I'd probably never live to find out if my machine works." He said, "I don't have the time or the strength left to run around trying to stop bad guys. It's too late for that. In twenty four hours I'm saving my_ own_ life- the rest of the world will have to wait."

Then he felt guilty for backing away from this so easily.

"_And_ I'm sick." He added, "I'd be no good in a situation like that – I'd probably slow you down...maybe even get you killed."

"But if we don't go and this Alchemy guy can't make it on his own, we're _all_ screwed if the bad guys win."

_"Bad guys?"_ Francesca exclaimed, "Here you go again – talking like a _kid!_ Think about the _danger,_ Zak!"

"I _am_ thinking about the danger. There's a real threat to all of us if they get away with this. Somebody has to stop them. We have to do something about it."

Earl stared at him in disbelief.

"We?" He said, "_WE?_ Oh man, I don't believe what I'm hearing! There is no way I could turn my back on my machine now! I'm a day away from a cure, Zak! I can't wait any longer!_ If I go on this mission, I won't be coming back!_"

Zak looked at him.

"I know you're sick. But I'd be with you – do you _really_ think I'd leave you in there?"

Earl looked back at him and thought about it.

"I guess that's the last thing you'd do." He said, wondering if Zak had just made a valid point, "But even if I went along with this, I'd slow you down –I'd probably get myself killed! And even if I didn't, going through something like that would just about kill the last of my strength – I might not survive long enough to use the machine if I did get back!"

Zak nodded.

"But think about this, Earl - we _have_ been there before. Not the same situation but one similar – and we handled it back then."

"You were a teenager with no sense of _danger_ back then!" Francesca yelled as she glared at her husband, "Zak, if you do this to me and our child I am _leaving_ you! We are over forever if you risk your life like this!"

Then Maria ran into the room and looked at her parents.

"Why are you shouting?" She wondered.

"Its just grown up stuff, honey. Don't worry about it." Jenny said, and quickly led the little girl out of the room.

Francesca looked at Zak with tears in her eyes.

"Don't do this to us." She whispered.

Zak looked into her eyes.

"If I go on this mission, I'll be doing this _for_ us!" He told her, "I love you and Maria and I don't want terrorists taking over and wrecking our world because we didn't stop them!"

And Earl heard every word he said and as those words sank in, he looked at Kellie.

_"We need to talk."_ He said quietly.

Kellie had already seen the look in his eyes and although her heart was breaking she understood his reasoning; Earl loved her, he loved her as much as Zak loved Francesca and Maria - and if Zak was going to do this for his family, she knew she was the reason Earl would be going along with him because he would be doing this for the same reason as Zak - _he would be doing it for love..._

"Okay." She replied, "Let's go and talk."

And Earl took hold of her hand and the two of them quietly slipped out of the room.

Now they were alone Francesca raised her voice a little more.

"Zak, if you leave us we won't be here if you get back. I told you before, you have a _child_ now - our priorities have changed!"

"_And I told you, I'm doing this for you and Maria!_ I can't sit back and let bad guys destroy the world - because this world is where the people I love happen to live! I know I can do this, Francesca. Please try and understand, it's the right thing for me to do and I _want_ to do this!"

Francesca shook her head.

As she looked at him her eyes were cold and resigned to the fact that their life together could soon be over.

"You have until tomorrow morning to decide." She said bitterly, "Take a look at your family – _watch Maria sleeping, remember what it's like to laugh with your mother and remember how it feels to hold me in your arms every night. Because if you go off on this mission you won't come back – so take your time, Zak. Think about everything you will lose before you choose to throw your life away!_"

He said her name and tried to catch her hand but she pulled away from his grip and got up, walking out of the room to leave him alone with his decision.

Zak's gaze wandered to the picture on the wall of him and Francesca and Maria; then he didn't think about her threat that she would leave, nor did he think about the chance that this mission could kill him; looking at the faces of his family and thinking about the threat the terrorists posed to the world, Zak knew he could only make one choice: _He was going on the mission, of course he was – he had to do it for the sake of everyone he loved and cared about..._


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The house was silent as the dusk gave way to darkness.

While Jenny closed Maria's door and felt thankful the little girl was fast asleep and knew little of her parent's quarrel, while Francesca cried quietly alone upstairs, Zak was still downstairs, thinking over his decision yet knowing there could only be one answer. It had grown so dark by now that he could barely see the faces of the people he loved as the moon offered a ray of silver light through the window:

_In a way, Francesca was right._ Of course there was a chance he could be killed if he went off on this mission. But if he didn't go and Fenmore couldn't handle this alone the whole world could wind up suffering for it – and if that happened he knew he couldn't bear the weight on his shoulders that dragged him down with questions starting with _What if..._ every time he tried to sleep. _He would always feel responsible if he didn't stand up for what he believed was right - even if the people who loved him didn't want him to do it..._

He was nursing a drink in his hand as he sat alone and he brought the glass to his lips and the vodka tasted too good, _too_ welcoming and Zak put the glass down on the table again. The minute he did that he felt _truly_ alone...

_"Don't think about it."_ He whispered, then he gave a heavy sigh as he felt as if the pressure he was under was about to come down on him and crush him.

Of course it would be the easiest option to take, to do nothing, to stay home with his wife and daughter and hope that everything would be okay.

_He could have done that, but it wouldn't have been enough..._

Zak looked back at the picture on the wall of his family that was lit up so ghostly by the moonlight:

He knew how much he loved them – and if anything was worth the risk of dying for, love had to be the highest reason – he was willing to take that chance to know that his family could carry on living in a world that was made that little bit safer by his actions.

He also felt _very_ sure his father would have agreed with him, too.

It all made sense to him, but he didn't know if Francesca would ever see it that way...

* * *

><p>Kellie's bedroom door was closed and locked and had been that way since she went upstairs with Earl because they needed to talk.<p>

And they had talked; they had talked until the sun went down...

Now the lamp was on next to the bed and threw a soft glow around the room.

They were still sitting there together, Kellie had listened to everything he had to say and she wasn't going to scream and shout and go crazy like Francesca; from the moment her brother had decided he was leaving with Agent Moore in the morning, she knew at once that Earl had changed his mind – there was no way he would let Zak go off into unknown danger and do it alone...

As she looked at Earl she was only too aware of the clock on the wall that seemed to be ticking louder than it ever had before: _it was odd that time was about to tear them apart and time itself seemed to be getting louder, almost as if it was warning her of what was to come..._

"I know you need to do this." Kellie said quietly, "And I know how much is at stake – you should be getting your machine working and thinking about yourself but you're not - you'd rather go off and save the world and I think you're brave to do that."

"I'm not just doing this for the world." Earl told her, "I'm thinking about your brother – I couldn't let him go alone, we've been through too much in the past for me to turn my back on him now."

Then he paused, looking at her and thinking how beautiful she was and wishing he looked and felt better than he did because he hadn't planned for them to get together like this – but circumstances had changed, and so had their plans.

"Are you sure you want us to –"

_"Yes."_ She replied softly and leaned a little closer and kissed him.

Earl pulled back nervously and laughed.

"Hey listen, Kellie – if I don't come back, remember me as the smart dude who invented hyper time, _please_ don't think of me as that dumb guy who spent one night with you and then went off and got himself killed!"

His smile faded quickly as he realised dying was a very real possibility - not only because he was delaying testing the machine, but because of the danger he was about to walk into - and he really didn't want to think about _that_ right now...

His hands shook as he began to unbutton his shirt. Then he got up and took his shirt off and walked over to the dresser and draped it over a chair.

He didn't want to turn around and look at Kellie sitting there on the bed waiting for him because he was nervous about what tomorrow would bring, he was scared too and he didn't want to admit to it.

"This is not exactly what I had in mind for us." He told her, unbuckling his belt, "I was hoping I'd get the machine working and be feeling better and we'd have all the time in the world to think about the rest of our lives...and now I don't even have time to save my own life because I have to go back into hyper time and make sure your brother doesn't get killed..._and_ my zipper's stuck! I can't even get my pants down at a time like this!"

Kellie smiled.

"Come here," She said, "Get on the bed, I'll help you."

Earl sat down on the bed and barely looked at her as she tugged down his zip.

"Thanks," He said, tugging his pants down and kicking them off, "I appreciate the help! I can't believe I couldn't even get undressed and do it properly, if I can't do a simple thing like take my pants off what good will I be going on a dangerous mission?"

In the soft light that glowed from the lamp Kellie could still see the shadows under his eyes but everything seemed softened, he didn't look so tired, not like he did by the light of day - but he _did_ look worried.

"I don't _think_ you'll be expected to take your pants off for this mission – so you should be just fine." She said warmly.

He gave a sigh of despair.

"That would be funny if I wasn't under so much stress right now!"

_"Earl."_

He looked at her. Then he stared in surprise– in the moments he had been fighting with his zip, she had got undressed and now she was in bed.

She slid the covers off her body and looked back at him.

"Come to bed, I want you in my arms."

Kellie put her arms around him and gave him a gentle kiss, then drew him closer beside her.

"Come on, get in bed, Earl."

He didn't need her to tell him again.

Earl got in bed and pulled the covers over them both, then wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly.

The feel of her skin against his own for the first time took his breath away and his hands were still shaking as he ran them over her body, touching her gently.

Kellie gave a gasp as they rolled together and suddenly she was on her back on the mattress and Earl was on top of her.

They kissed again and their kisses grew deeper and more passionate, then Earl pulled back a little and looked into her eyes.

_"I do love you."_ He said breathlessly.

"I know!" She told him, "I love you too."

"I'm sorry that all we can probably have is this one night," He told her, "Because I was planning on spending forever with you and we both know that won't happen now."

And they lay together for a moment, looking into each others eyes as they both thought about what this meant.

Kellie wanted to cry but Earl looked like he was using all of his strength not to weep so she managed to hold it back.

Instead she smiled and ran her fingers through his hair as she looked up at him.

"Well I guess our plans just changed." She said quietly, "I never was good at last minute changes of plan – but we need to make the most of this."

_"I know that."_ He whispered, realising this would probably be the _only_ memory he would ever have of him and Kellie together like this.

Then he blocked out all thoughts of what tomorrow might bring and held her tighter, kissed her and heard her catch her breath as she welcomed him inside her and the way did that sent a thrill through every nerve in his body to remind him that for now, he was very much alive.

_As he made love to her he wished it could last forever and he promised himself that no matter what happened after tonight, in his darkest moment that was yet to come he knew he would close his eyes and remember making love to Kellie Gibbs, Zak's sister – the woman who had turned out to be the love of his life..._

* * *

><p>As the morning light began to break through the dawn, Zak woke up with a jolt as his first thought was to wonder why he was alone. He looked left and right and then realised he was still sitting in the front room – he had fallen asleep on the chair and now it was daybreak – but there was no sign of Francesca.<p>

He got up quickly, feeling a flicker of concern:_ She had just gone to bed and left him here? Had she meant what she said about leaving him?_

Zak went quickly up the stairs.

As he quietly pushed open Maria's door he gave a sigh of relief: his daughter was sleeping soundly in her bed, so no – Francesca had _not_ left him...

He closed Maria's door and went into his own bedroom.

Francesca was not sleeping. She was sitting on the bed fully clothed and her dark hair hung over her shoulders as she watched the sun rising.

"Can we talk about this?" He said quietly.

She gave a sigh that seemed to echo every moment of the sleep she had lost and pushed her dark hair off her face and looked at him.

"You've made your decision, so go and gamble with your life - just remember when it all goes wrong it wasn't worth the risk - because you have a _family_ who love you."

Zak managed a hopeful smile.

"So you _do_ still love me, then?"

She didn't smile back at him.

"Don't make light of this, Zak! I may never see you again, Maria could lose her father –"

_"Are you still fighting?"_

They turned to see Maria standing in the doorway. She was up and dressed and was brushing her hair as she stood there looking at her parents.

"No." Francesca promised her, "We are not fighting any more, honey. Come on, let's go and make you some breakfast."

And as she reached the doorway she glanced back at Zak.

"You'd better get showered and dressed – Agent Moore will be here in a couple of hours."

And then she left the room, leaving so much unsaid that it made his heart ache.

* * *

><p>Jenny was in the kitchen making breakfast. She tried to smile for Maria's sake but as she caught the look on Francesca's face it made staying happy for Maria even harder to do; they were both afraid for Zak and they both knew him well enough to know that when he made his mind up about something there was no stopping him.<p>

Jenny caught Francesca by the kitchen sink, away from the table where Maria couldn't hear them and she whispered to her.

"Zak knows what he's doing. He's not an idiot. He'll get through this."

Maria glanced at her with eyes full of tears.

"It's easy to say that, but what if he doesn't come back?_ You lose your son, I lose my husband and Maria loses her father!_"

Jenny looked at Maria and her heart ached as she thought about what she had just said. Francesca was too young to lose her husband; that was a pain that Jenny knew only too well and she couldn't bear to think of her suffering like that, or of Maria to lose her Daddy. But most of all, she didn't want to lose her son, her precious only son who was so like his late father...

She hoped as she spoke again she could believe in her own words.

"He _will_ get through this." Jenny stated, "We have to have faith in him, Francesca."

And Francesca nodded, saying no more as she quickly wiped her eyes and wondered if faith would really be enough...

* * *

><p>As they rolled over in bed, Earl slid his hand lower and Kellie gave a gasp, the way her body trembled made him move harder against her and then he clung to her, grabbing hold of her tighter and kissing her again as they shared a moment of helpless bliss.<p>

Earl was still breathless as he clung to her and wished he never had to let go.

"I wish you didn't have to go." Kellie whispered.

Earl pushed her damp hair off her face and looked into her eyes.

"I wish you hadn't said that." He told her, "Because I feel the same. But I _have_ to do this."

_"I know."_

He let go of her and sat up, taking in a couple more breaths to steady himself as a wave of weakness came over him.

"I've got to go back to my room. I need a shower, I need to get changed and I need to take my pills. I'll have to take some of 'em with me too – I can't go off into some dangerous situation and pass out on Zak – that could get the both of us killed!"

Earl leaned over her and gave her another kiss, then got up quickly while he could still bear to tear himself away. He felt sure if he stayed any longer he would be in serious danger of changing his mind – and that was the last thing he wanted to do because he would _never_ let Zak down...

As Earl left the room Kellie turned over in bed and grabbed the pillow, she pressed her face against it and closed her eyes as she inhaled the scent of his hair and felt an ache in her heart that she knew would only get worse when he was gone. She wondered if she ought to stay in bed and cry but then she decided that wasn't how she wanted him to remember her, so Kellie got up and wiped her eyes and found the strength to face this difficult day.

* * *

><p>A while later a car rolled up outside and Agent Moore got out.<p>

Jenny Gibbs said nothing as she opened the door, she just stepped aside and her son passed her, leaving the house and then turning back to give her a hug.

She wanted to cling to her son forever but she let him go and managed to smile because she would have done the same if it had been her husband choosing to take such a risk; Zak was so like his father and she was sure she had never felt more proud of him than she was at this moment, even though she felt as if her heart was breaking...

Then Francesca came to the door and Maria was holding her hand.

_"Zak."_

He turned back and looked at her.

Francesca fell silent for a moment. There was so much she wanted to say and now there was no time and even if there had been she couldn't have said it all in front of their daughter.

"Where are you going, Daddy?" Maria wondered.

As he looked into the eyes of his little girl he felt like his heart was breaking all over again.

"There's a problem somewhere and Daddy's going to help some people to sort it out." He told her, "I shouldn't be gone too long."

And Francesca let go of her hand and looked away as she wiped her eyes, not wanting to cry as Zak hugged their daughter for what could turn out to be the last time.

Then he let go of her and looked at his wife.

Francesca stepped forward and gave him a hug.

She held on tightly as she wished she could wipe out every hurtful word they had exchanged leading up to this moment.

"I love you." She promised him.

Zak smiled and the look in his eyes told hr their quarrel was already forgotten

"I know you do." He replied, "I love you too. And I'll see you both real soon, I promise."

Then he let her go, turned and walked to the car and got in.

Agent Moore checked his watch.

"Where's Dr Dopler?"

"I'm right here." Earl said, passing Jenny and Maria and pausing to check out the car.

"A limo?" He remarked, "Nice..." His smile faded. _"The kind they use for funerals..."_

Then he saw the look in Jenny's eyes and swiftly apologised.

"Sorry Mrs G, I was just trying to make light of the situation. Don't worry about me and Zak – we won't be gone for long."

Then he gave Jenny a hug and smiled at Maria.

_"Earl."_

As Kellie said his name he heard so much emotion in her voice that he could barely bring himself to look into her eyes – she was about to cry, he was sure of it.

"Bye, Kellie." He said, then he hugged her and kissed her cheek.

He made a move to step away but her hands were still on his shoulders.

"Take care of yourself."

"I will." He told her, then he hugged her again.

_"I love you."_ He whispered in her ear, then he let go of her and walked over to the car. He was about to get in when he turned and looked back.

Kellie had tears in her eyes and she was trying not to cry and she had no idea how much he wanted to turn around and back out of this whole thing because she was scared for him and he knew why; he was scared too.

But he managed to give her a smile.

_"Don't worry about me and your brother."_ He said to her, _"This is like old times for us. We can handle it, honey."_

Then he gave her a wink and put on his dark glasses.

Zak leaned out of the car and looked at his sister.

"I'll be fine." He called out.

"You'd better be, Zak!" Kellie called out.

Then she glanced at Earl again.

Take care of my brother – and yourself."

"You can be sure I'll do that." He promised her.

Then Earl got into the car and Agent Moore followed.

"Are you both ready to leave?" Moore asked them.

"Sure we are, let's rock and roll." Earl said, then he shut the car door.

Then the limo pulled out of the driveway.

The car turned onto the road and Jenny and Francesca stood side by side watching until the car was out of sight, then Francesca wiped her eyes again and Jenny put her arm around her.

"Try and stay strong." She told her, "I'm sure they'll both be okay – they'll be back home soon."

_"They'd better be!"_

Both women turned to see tears streaming down Kellie's face.

"Oh come here, honey!" Said her Mom, but Kellie just gave a sob and went back in the house and ran upstairs to weep alone, where her pillow still carried the scent of her lover.

* * *

><p>Zak sat back in the comfortable seat and exchanged a glance with Earl.<p>

"This isn't such a bad start to the day – cruising around in a limo..."

"We're stopping off soon." Agent Moore told them,"The driver knows the way. We're picking up Agent Fenmore and then we're going on to another location where you will prepare for this mission."

"You can't just sneak us into Randall's building?" Zak wondered.

"It's not as simple as that because of security." Moore replied, "We have to get you deep into the core of that place and you have to go up several levels before you reach the target. I'll show you the layout of the place when we reach our destination, but it's Earl who really needs to get a good look at it because he won't forget a thing – he's got a photographic memory."

And Earl just smiled, hoping after the way hyper time had ravaged every cell in his body that he could still use his memory like that – _some days he felt so lousy he was sure he was lucky just to remember where he'd even left his house keys..._

As the car drove on Zak watched as his home town disappeared from sight and then turned from the window and looked at Agent Moore.

"So why do we have to go all this way out of town when it would be quicker to just sneak in? I still think it would be the better way to do it. Why go miles out of our way just to go back?"

Agent Moore guessed that Zak hadn't changed much at all; he had been bright back when he was a kid and he was still smart, still sharp enough to guess there was much more to this than he was aware of.

"Maybe I should tell you the rest of it now." He concluded, "We're going to pick up Fenmore and then we're going on to a research center that's quite a long drive from here- they've developed a means of transportation that until recently was impossible. It will enable you to be placed directly where we need you to be – and it will be the _safest_ way to send you there."

Behind his shades, Earl closed his eyes for a moment as he gave a sigh and wished he had never agreed to this. Then he looked at Agent Moore.

"I take it you mean we're going to Area 51?"

"Really?" Said Zak, sounding like an excited teen all over again, "Wow, that sounds great –"

"No it's not." Earl told him, "It means this whole situation just got even heavier. I know what he's talking about, I used to hear rumors about their top secret project all the time! They're going to send us in there by teleportation. I don't know what that will do to me; my molecules have been through enough already!"

Zak thought about it and suddenly the idea didn't sound so great after all. He looked at Agent Moore.

"Teleport? Is that safe for Earl?"

Agent Moore looked back at him thoughtfully.

"I don't know, I've been told it won't be a pleasant experience for him given his current condition - but it won't kill him."

Earl took off his dark glasses and glared at Moore.

"You opened your mouth about what's wrong with me? I thought you wanted me on this mission? _They won't let me go with Zak if they know I'm sick!_"

Agent Moore didn't like to think he had ever broken any kind of confidence or trust because he was a man who did things by the book, but he was willing to admit to what he had done even if it only made Earl feel slightly better about it.

"Dr Dopler, I haven't told anyone about your condition – at least no one who can prevent you going with Zak. I just asked someone who I know and trust who is working on the project because I knew I'd get an honest answer. If I thought being sent through the teleport system would have killed you I would have taken you off this mission immediately, but the answer was _no_ – so you don't have to worry about that."

"So nobody else knows I'm sick?"

"No." Agent Moore said, then he felt a prickle of guilt and owned up: "Well a _couple_ of people on the project know – but I won't let it slip to everyone until you're on the mission and it's too late to call you back. I'll tell them you've found a way to fix the problem - so assuming you get back okay, there shouldn't be a problem."

_"If I get back."_ Earl said quietly, then he fell silent again and turned his gaze to the window, reminding himself it was too late to back out of this thing now even though he was starting to wish that he could...

Then the car slowed to a halt.

Zak and Earl watched as the door opened and a man got in and sat next to Agent Moore.

He said nothing and the car started moving again.

Zak looked at the man who had just got into the car: He was wearing a dark blue suit and a silk tie; he was average height, a stocky guy with light brown hair and ice blue eyes. He opened up a box of donuts and glanced at his companions.

"Want one?" He asked as he took one out and started to eat it.

Zak shook his head.

"I just ate breakfast."

Alchemy Fenmore looked at Earl.

"No, I don't feel like eating right now."

Fenmore was still looking at Earl.

"Why not? Don't you _like_ donuts?"

"I just don't _want_ one, thanks."

Fenmore shrugged and carried on eating.

_"Weird._" He said between mouthfuls of food.

Earl looked at him sharply.

_"What?"_

Now Zak was watching the conversation unfold.

"Hey what's this, a fight already?"

He had said it as a joke but the look the two men gave each other told him they had already got off to a bad start.

"Did you just call me _weird?_" Earl demanded.

"No, I said weird because I thought you didn't like donuts, that's all."

Then Fenmore's eyes turned cold.

"That's all I meant, so get over it. _And quit staring at me_."

And as he said that, Fenmore carried on looking at Earl.

He glared at him.

"What? I'm supposed to look away _first?_"

Zak laughed and shook his head.

"I don't believe you guys are fighting like this!"

"He started it!" Earl said accusingly, "He's _staring_ at me!"

Fenmore shoved the box of donuts into Agent Moore's hands and glared right back at Earl, who glanced at Zak.

"He's doing it again!" Earl said, starting to get worked up, _"The dudes looking at me like I just screwed his sister or something-"_

Then he stopped and his eyes grew wider as he looked at Zak and remembered Zak knew nothing about him and Kellie. _Then he wondered how he would react when he found out – years ago, Zak had always been so protective of his little sister Kellie..._

But he saw nothing but slightly bemused confusion in Zak's eyes.

_"Screw his sister?"_ He repeated, "Where the hell did _that_ come from?"

He didn't notice the guilt in Earl's eyes as he quickly looked back at Fenmore.

"I just mean you're staring at me like you hate me –you don't even_ know_ me, man!"

Fenmore shook his head and smiled.

"I guess I shouldn't get you all worked up – I know you're sick – I've been told."

Earl felt a flicker of alarm as he looked at Agent Moore.

"You told _him?_"

"He's on the mission, he needed to know."

Then Agent Moore looked away and fell silent, feeling like he ought to be apologizing because Fenmore was not exactly known for his tact or sensitivity.

Fenmore glanced back at Earl.

"And I don't_ have_ a sister." He informed him, then he took another donut out of the box and started to eat it.

Earl opened his mouth to speak but Zak shot him a look and he decided to shut up before this discussion turned bad again.

* * *

><p>They drove on and the hours passed and by the time Zak felt hypnotized by the blur of the desert as it passed by his window, Earl's head was resting on his shoulder because he had fallen asleep several miles back.<p>

Fenmore kept his voice low as he spoke to Zak.

"Are you sure he's up for this?" He asked him, gesturing to Earl.

"Of course he is. He knows the risk he's taking – probably _more_ of a risk than you and me, but he's doing this for the right reasons! Why don't you just back off and leave him alone?"

Fenmore fixed Zak with an icy look.

"We're going into a dangerous situation and I need to be sure my team can work together. _I'm not so sure I can get along with him._"

And Agent Moore gave a sigh as he wondered if putting these three guys together for a mission that could potentially make the world a safer place really was such a great idea after all...

The car came to a halt and Moore leaned out of the window to show his ID, then they drove on.

"We're almost there." He informed them.

Zak gave Earl a gentle nudge.

"Wake up." He said quietly.

Earl's head was still on his shoulder, he didn't move and as Zak glanced down at him for one scary moment he wondered if he was dead.

_"Earl?"_

Zak had spoken louder this time, enough to wake Dr Dopler sharply.

He sat up and looked around.

"What, what the hell's happened?"

Zak gave a sigh of relief and Fenmore rolled his eyes.

"This is a recipe for a _fucking disaster_." He said in a low voice.

Zak glared at him.

_"If I hear one more word come out of your mouth I'll –"_

"Guys," Agent Moore said, speaking loud enough to break up the quarrel, "We're here. Let's go."

And he opened the door and got out of the car.

Zak got out of the car and Earl shot Fenmore a brief dirty look before getting out as fast as he could because he didn't want to be left alone with that guy any longer than he had to be.

Then Zak stood by the car and looked around; the building in front of him didn't look as big as he imagined it to be.

"It's kind of small." He remarked.

"No it's not," Earl replied, "We have to underground. I've heard this is a huge place."

Zak had heard him but suddenly he was more concerned about his friend than anything else that was going on a round him; Earl was leaning against the car and looked a little unsteady as he took a couple of deep breaths.

"Are you okay?" He said quietly.

"I will be." Earl replied, "Just give me a minute... I've got some pills in my pocket, I need to take 'em soon."

Alchemy Fenmore turned to Agent Moore and didn't even bother to lower his voice.

"Dopler's a liability!" He said, "He shouldn't be coming on this mission – he'll slow us down! And every time he gets sick, he's all Zak Gibbs will have on his mind!"

Agent Moore remained professional about this; Fenmore had no idea how much he wished he could speak to him the way he _really_ wanted to and tell him exactly what he thought about his attitude...

"Dr Dopler is the man who invented hyper time." He reminded him, "He_ need_s to be on this mission."

Fenmore briefly glanced at Earl and then spoke to Agent Moore again, not caring that Zak was looking at him like he wanted to kill him for what he had just said.

_"If he gets into trouble, if he can't cope,"_ He said, pointing an accusing finger at Earl, _"He's on his own!"_

And then Fenmore turned and walked towards the entrance, pausing to flash his ID at an armed guard.

As Zak looked at Moore he caught a flash of anger in his eyes.

"I have _serious_ reservations about working with that guy!" Zak told him.

"I know he's a bit difficult to get along with," Agent Moore told him, "But Fenmore's the best in his field and he's the right man for the job. I'm sorry if he's caused offense but it's just the way he is. But he won't leave either of you if you run into trouble, I'll make sure of that. I'll talk to him before you go."

"I still don't trust him." Zak replied, "He's going in there looking out for himself, he's already made that clear."

And he glanced at Earl.

"Don't worry about what he said. If you get in trouble I'll _definitely_ be there for you, that's a promise."

Earl put his dark glasses on.

"Thanks Zak." He said, then he looked at Agent Moore and suddenly seemed to be feeling a lot better.

"Let's go." He said,"I've always wanted to see Area 51! I've heard about it but I've never been here before."

And then Zak and Earl walked with Agent Moore to the entrance, where Moore paused to show his ID again.

* * *

><p>The doors opened and they stepped into the research center known as Area 51.<p>

The place was a maze of corridors that to Zak all looked the same, but then he noticed Fenmore waiting by an elevator.

"What took you so long?" He snapped.

"You didn't have to wait for us." Zak replied.

Then the doors slid open and they all went into the elevator.

When Zak saw how many buttons were on the illuminated panel that Agent Moore pressed, he realized there were _many_ floors to this place - and every single one of them went down.

As the elevator began to slowly descend, they all stood in silence.

Then Zak wondered about what lie in store when the doors opened again.

"How far down are we going?" He wondered.

"Why?" Moore asked him, "Are you claustrophobic?"

"I don't think so." Zak replied.

Earl thought about that question and hoped that he wasn't – but the longer he thought abut it the more he started to wish he could just get out of this place, he felt trapped because he needed a glass of water so he could swallow his pills.

Fenmore noticed he was breaking out in a sweat.

"Is it getting too much for you already, Dr Dopler?" He remarked, _"Maybe you should stay behind."_

Earl glanced at him through his shades.

_"Maybe you should shut your mouth, dirtbag!"_

Fenmore made a move to step closer. Earl was ready to do the same and as he moved Zak stepped in the middle and kept them apart.

"Guys!" He exclaimed, "Let's_ not_ fight in the elevator!"

Then Agent Moore looked sharply at Alchemy Fenmore, who stepped back and quickly composed himself.

_"Any more of this shit and I'll have you fired, Fenmore."_ He stated

Fenmore shut up right away – he knew when he had pushed his luck too far..

"Sorry Sir." He said quietly.

Agent Moore was standing there watching the illuminated panel count down as they continued to descend deeper into the building.

"Don't apologize to me." Moore told him, "I'm not the one you've pissed off. _Apologize to Dr Dopler_."

Zak caught the look in Fenmore's eyes and he looked away, suppressing the urge to laugh.

"_Sorry,_ Dr Dopler." Fenmore said with great reluctance.

Earl looked at him smugly.

"What was that, Agent Fenmore?"

"Sorry!" He snapped.

_"What ever."_ Earl replied as if he couldn't care less.

Then Zak couldn't help it as his laughter escaped, but he quickly got hold of himself again before Fenmore _really_ lost his temper; by now his eyes were blazing.

Agent Moore turned to Zak and Earl.

"We're almost there now. You both need to pay attention to everything that's explained to you about the mission. Then we can run you through the teleport process and explain how your weapons work and you can take a look at the layout of the place. Listen to everything; ask questions if you need to - and _don't_ leave until you're both sure you fully understand everything that you need to do. That's about all you need to know."

Then Agent Moore remembered something else.

_"And don't tease the Roswell alien."_

Zak and Earl exchanged a surprised glance.

"The what?" Said Zak.

"The Roswell alien." Agent Moore repeated.

"It's real?" Earl wondered, "I thought that was just a rumor."

"No, it's real." Agent Moore replied, "It's a not – too - intelligent life form from another planet, it lives in a tank of water and it eats plants. _Don't_ tap on the glass or make it angry. _Don't tease it_."

Zak and Earl exchanged another glance, wondering what kind of a place they would be walking into and what they would see when the doors slid open.

Then suddenly they didn't have to wonder any more, because the elevator came to a halt and the doors opened into a bright corridor.

"This way, gentlemen." Said Agent Moore, and they followed him out.

As they walked down the corridor Fenmore went on ahead by himself.

"I think he's starting as he means to go on." Earl remarked, "He's _already_ left us behind."

Zak looked at his best friend.

_"Screw Alchemy Fenmore."_ He said under his breath, _"We've got each other; as long as we stick together we'll both be fine."_

Then Zak and Earl followed Agent Moore down the corridor, ready to face the unknown together.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Agent Moore had led them into a large room where the layout of Randall's headquarters was illuminated on a screen.

Zak was distracted at first by glimpses through windows into other rooms where scientists were working, but as he looked back at the map he realised this was a big place they were about to go into – and they were being sent down deeper than they needed to go, purely to avoid detection. It would be a tough journey to even reach the target and he wasn't sure how Earl would handle that climb...

Earl had looked at the map too and listened as the layout was described. But he kept looking away, drawn towards a large tank that looked like a big aquarium.

Something small and grey darted about amongst underwater plants, then it pulled the reeds apart and peered out.

Earl stepped away from the map and went over to the tank. He took off his shades and peered closer at the glass, jumping back a little as a small grey face with black eyes peeked out at him.

Earl smiled and gently tapped on the glass.

"Hi little fella." He said in a friendly voice.

His smile soon faded as the creature's blank expression twisted into a mean, demonic look as it bared teeth, then stuck up a middle finger at him.

Earl repeated the gesture as the creature glared at him.

"Dr Dopler," Said Agent Moore, "_Don't_ tease the Roswell alien!"

And the room fell silent and suddenly Earl felt a little uncomfortable as he realised everyone in the room had paused to stare at him.

"Sorry." He said quietly, "But you didn't tell me how rude the thing was! He just flicked the finger at me!"

And Zak smiled.

"No wonder it gets teased." He remarked, "I never would have guessed it... the alien is obnoxious..."

Earl went back to join Zak and paused to glance back at the alien. It was _still_ giving him an evil look so he gave it one right back.

Then Agent Moore told him to pay attention and as he turned back to the map, Fenmore glanced at him doubtfully.

"We're going in three floors below the target. We're basically looking at climbing up to get through and it's a long way up. _I'm not sure you can cope with a workout like that, Dr Dopler._"

Earl scanned the map.

"So we go in here," He said, tracing his finger along the route, "And we're in a series of tunnels that are used for the plumbing... and these are maintenance shafts... once we get into the air conditioning system there's a series of crawl spaces... it shouldn't be too difficult for me."

Fenmore was still looking at him doubtfully.

"I can handle it." Earl stated, "Who knows - maybe I'll handle it better than _you_ when things start to get rough..."

Malice shone in Fenmore's eyes.

_"I doubt it."_

As weaponry was placed on a nearby table, Agent Moore spoke up before another fight broke out between Earl and Fenmore.

"You'll each have a copy of the map" He told them, "And these guns..."

"Wow." Zak said, picking up the gleaming silver weapon in both hands as he felt the weight of it, "These are great, they're like a cross between a paintball gun and... I don't know... something cool out of a sci fi movie! Why is the bullet chamber split in two sections?"

"These guns need to be handled with care." Moore told him, "There's a control switch on the back of the weapon. Level one fires liquid nitrogen bullets to knock your assailants out of hyper time. But level two contains super powered armor piercing bullets that will work in _and_ out of hyper time – you may need to use it because Randall has staff rotated around the clock patrolling in hyper time and out of it too so they'll have the same kind of weaponry."

"So assuming we make it to the main lab," Zak said, "What happens next?"

"There's a device in the main chamber that can be set to auto destruct. That's where Dr Dopler's knowledge comes in. He should be able to crack the code and get the timer going. After that you both get the hell out of there, get back down to the floor above the foundations and precisely forty minutes after we send you in, we pull you out again."

"What if we don't make it in time?" Zak wondered.

"You'll have an implant under your skin at the top of your arm. As long as the implant stays intact we can lock onto you and get you out of there, but you'll be safer to retreat back down to wait for recall. We can trace your signal for up to forty miles away from target, but you won't be able to get out any other way because three of you couldn't fight your way out through the front door and once that timer's set the whole place will go on lock down in fifteen minutes."

_"So that's us trapped like rats."_ Earl murmured.

Zak glanced at him and caught a look in his eyes that made him very sure that once they got into this place, he wouldn't just be looking out for himself – Earl would need all the help he could get...

Then Agent Moore led them over to a door way and opened it and they walked through into the lab space beyond.

"You'll each need to have an implant placed under your skin." He told them, "It doesn't go deep but it has to stay in contact with your skin so we can lock onto your DNA to bring you back. Be careful, _don't_ get it damaged –_ or you won't be getting out of that place_."

And as a woman in a lab coat stepped away from her colleagues and came over to them, she glanced at the three men who were scheduled for teleport.

"If you come with me I can set your implants in place," She said, "Who's first?"

And Fenmore glanced at Earl.

"I'd better go first – it's no big deal. _Don't faint when it's your turn Dopler._"

And he looked at the woman in the lab coat.

"He's weak." He confided, "I don't think he can handle much pain."

Earl glared at him and took off his jacket.

"_I'll_ _go first!_" He snapped, and followed the woman into another room.

Zak looked at Fenmore and tried to keep his temper in check, even though his hand was at his side and screwing into a fist as he spoke quietly to him.

"I wish you'd shut your fucking mouth! _Leave him alone!_"

Fenmore showed no flicker of a reaction as he looked casually at Zak.

"I don't think he should be on this mission" He stated, "He's not physically strong enough. He's a sick man and he's going to slow us down and he's going to get himself killed."

"Maybe you're wrong." Zak told him, "Maybe _you'll_ be the one who gets yourself killed!"

Fenmore smirked at the suggestion.

"I _always_ come back in one piece."

Zak had seen something in his eyes as he said that, something that told him this guy had always been looking out for himself...

"What about your colleagues?" He wondered, "Do _they_ always come back in one piece? Because I'm not sure you're the kind of man to back anyone up in a crisis!"

Fenmore's eyes turned to ice.

"I have my own instructions." He said, "And my role in this mission is _none_ of your business."

Then Earl came back out of the other room. His shirt was open and he pulled it aside and showed Zak a small cut on his upper arm that had been taped closed.

"It doesn't hurt." He told him, "Well...not much. You're next, Zak..."

And as Zak walked off, Earl glanced at Fenmore and then walked off, deciding even five minutes alone in his company would be too much.

He went back over the glass tank and stood there for a moment, watching the grey creature amusing itself toying with the dense reeds that filled the tank.

Then he took a quick glanced around, realised no one was watching him, and remembering how rude the creature had been, tapped on the tank and then went around the other side and tapped again, giving into the urge to tease the Roswell alien one more time.

* * *

><p>While Zak and Earl were getting ready for teleport, home was not in their thoughts as they wondered what kind of danger they were about to face - but back at home, Jenny Gibbs was thinking of her son constantly. She was sitting with Francesca on the patio and Maria was playing in the late afternoon sun, she was playing in the garden like she always did because she had no idea how much danger her Daddy had just placed himself in. Francesca was trying hard not to show how upset she was; she knew it mattered that Maria picked up on none of the bad stuff.<p>

"It's not as if he can call me." Francesca said quietly, "This is so difficult, in a crazy kind of way a part of me wishes I could have gone with him. "

Then she turned and watched her daughter on the garden swing and then looked back at Zak's Mom.

"But then I look at her and I wonder what made me think such a crazy thought. It was different years ago; we were little more than kids, when you're young danger means little, it's just a word. We think we're fire proof and then we grow up and we realise we're not, we get other things that come along to remind us about responsibility and where are our priorities lie – and_ my_ priority is with Maria. I just wish that Zak felt the same way."

"He does." Jenny told her, "He's doing this for you and Maria. I know it doesn't seem like that but the only reason he's taking this chance is to try and make the future safer for both of you."

Francesca gave a sigh.

"I know that. I _do_ know it for sure deep down inside but I keep thinking it would have been so much easier for him to have refused to go."

Jenny thought about her husband and smiled even though sadness filled her eyes.

"But Zak's like his father. He believes in doing the right thing"

"I know," Francesca replied, "But it still rips my heart out."

Then a chair scraped back and Kellie sat down to join them.

She had stopped crying now but her eyes were red and she quickly pushed her slightly messy hair off her face and looked at her Mom and Francesca.

"Sorry I got so worked up." She said, and her voice still sounded shaky, "I didn't mean to spend half the day crying like I did – I'm just glad I did it upstairs so Maria didn't know about it."

Jenny looked at her daughter.

"Kellie, I know this is difficult but try not to upset yourself over your brother! I believe he knows what he's doing, he's going to get out of there."

"I think so too." Kellie said quietly, "But it's Earl I'm scared for!"

And her eyes filed with tears again. She looked at her Mom and Francesca and decided it was better to share her news, because then they would understand why she was falling apart every five minutes...

_"I'm seeing him."_ She explained, managing a smile as she remembered the way he kissed her, _"Me and Earl got together last night."_

And Jenny smiled too as she looked at her daughter and saw a light shining in he eyes that said she was _definitely_ in love.

"I'm pleased for you, honey! I know how much you care about him; he was all you wanted for such a long time."

And Jenny got up and went back into the house for a moment.

Francesca leaned a little closer and lowered her voice as she spoke to her across the table.

"Seriously? You got it together with him? I never thought I would see the day when that happened!"

Kellie was smiling now, she had stopped crying and her thoughts were back with the man she loved.

"He's so handsome, don't you think?"

Francesca giggled.

"Um... well I guess I would say I think_ Zak_ is handsome, Earl's not really my type, Kellie."

But Kellie hadn't finished.

"He looks great with his clothes off!" She exclaimed, "And he's so good with his hands!"

Francesca giggled again and shook her head as she felt her cheeks growing hot.

"Stop it, Kellie – too much information! I don't want to think about him in that way!"

Kellie was still wrapped up in the memories that were keeping her warm.

"But I can't believe it's finally happened!" She said to her, _"I've slept with Earl!"_

"Kellie..."

"I've held him, I've kissed him, I've _done_ it with him, Francesca! We did it _twice!_"

Francesca giggled again and held up her hand as she laughed.

"Stop, Kellie! I don't want to think about _anyone_ doing it with Earl! Just keep it private, okay?"

"Okay." Kellie said.

Then she glanced at Francesca again.

"He_ has_ to come back; he has to make it back home. I love him and I need him so much. I don't think I've ever loved anyone the way I love him! I just want to be in his arms._ I think about him and I want him inside me-_"

Francesca leaned over the table and playfully took hold of Kellie's face.

"Shut up!" She giggled, "I _don't_ want that picture in my head! I don't want to think about Earl Dopler being naked or making love to anyone, okay? Now _stop it,_ you crazy woman!"

And her eyes sparkled as she kissed Kellie's cheek and let go of her.

Then the two women exchanged anther glance and by now all the sorrow had gone from their eyes.

"We've got one thing in common when it comes to men." Kellie said.

Francesca was still blushing.

"No, we haven't! I do not think Earl is remotely sexy! He's just Earl... and _Earl Dopler_ and _sexy_ do not go together in my way of thinking!"

"I wasn't going to say that – I mean, we both love our guys."

"Yes we do." Francesca agreed, and then she looked back at Zak's sister and realised their conversation had raised her out of her sadness at least for a little while and that was a welcome distraction from the ache in her heart, even if she really didn't want to think about Zak's closest friend the way Kellie was describing him... But their conversation had lightened the mood and it stayed that way for a little while, as they sat together and watched Maria playing in the sunshine, having no idea of the danger her father was about to walk into...

* * *

><p>Zak and Earl had walked into a narrow metal room where the walls pulsed with red light.<p>

Fenmore joined them and as he stood beside them, Agent Moore paused in the doorway and looked at Fenmore, Zak Gibbs and Earl Dopler, they were ready with their weapons at their sides, Zak and Fenmore coped with the weight easily as the strap had been fastened from shoulder to hip to secure the guns, but Earl looked as if it was weighing him down already.

Agent Moore briefly thought about the first time he had met Zak Gibbs, when he had been little more than a kid playing with a watch that he thought was no more than a cool toy... now he was a man with a wife and a child and he wished he had never been asked to take him away from his family and drag him into this mess. And Dr Dopler looked as if he ought to be any where except on this mission – the guy was sick and it showed. He didn't want to think this could be the last time he saw either of those guys, but it was quite obvious that all three of them probably wouldn't make it back again...

"Good luck guys." He said.

Then he made a move to step out of the chamber.

_"Wait!"_

Agent Moore paused and looked at Earl, who seemed as if he was on the brink of panic but trying to hold it back; he knew this journey would be easy for Zak and Fenmore, but not so for him given his weakened state.

"Yes, Dr Dopler?"

Earl glanced at the hyper time watch on his wrist.

"How come you were able to give us these watches? I thought you said they were all stolen?"

"Most of them were stolen. But we had five watches secured here at Area 51. You and Zak and Agent Fenmore now have three of them- the other two are locked away just in case we need them at some point for research in the future."

Earl stared at him.

"So they hyper time project isn't completely buried? Are you telling me there could be more work going on with _my_ invention? If there is I want to be told about this, Agent Moore!"

As he heard those words Moore gave a sigh.

"Dr Dopler, this isn't the time or place to be discussing future possibilities about things that have yet to be decided."

Earl stood in the teleport chamber beside Zak and looked hard at Moore.

"Even if I never come back," He stated, "If I die today, I want it down on record that I said this, so you'd better listen, dude – _I never wanted hyper time to be used as a weapon!_ I'll stand by that until there's no breath left in me, I _never_ would have worked at QT if I'd known what they were planning to do! I'm not a believer in making weapons. That's _not_ what I'm about!"

Agent Moore saw the look in Earl Dopler's eyes and he didn't doubt for a moment that he meant every word he had just said.

"I'll be sure to remember that." He promised him, "But I'm sure you'll be back to repeat those sentiments soon enough. I wish you all the luck in the world with this – "

And he glanced at Fenmore.

"Cover them – don't forget they're civilians."

Alchemy Fenmore nodded.

"Of course, Sir. You can trust me."

Zak wondered if Fenmore had just lied or if he had made a promise he intended to keep, but it was too late for conversation as the door slammed shut and the lights that pulsed on the walls began to brighten as they powered up.

Zak took a deep breath.

"This is it."

And he glanced at Earl.

"See you soon."

_"Maybe."_ Earl said quietly, closing his eyes and wondering how his body would deal with his molecules being messed about with by science for one last time. He knew it wouldn't kill him but he knew this was going to hurt and he wanted it over with as soon as possible.

"You'll be fine." He heard Zak say, then the three of them were caught up by the light, pulled into it, became a part of it and the teleport sent the three men out of the sealed room, far away into the unknown.

* * *

><p>Zak opened his eyes as the light faded, wincing as he felt his back hit a solid wall sharply. He took in a breath and blinked, taking in his position: he was in a wide, dimly lit tunnel. Pipes ran along the walls and ceiling and the tunnel seemed to stretch on as far as he could see, disappearing into darkness as it took a sudden turn.<p>

"At least _we_ both landed on our feet."

He turned around to see Fenmore standing beside him.

_"Zak..."_

As he heard Earl's voice he looked past Fenmore.

Earl was on his knees trying to pick himself up from the floor, he was breathless and shaking and breaking out in a sweat.

"Help me up, dude...I feel like I've been just zapped with ten thousand volts!"

As Zak rushed to his side to help him up he glanced at Agent Fenmore, who had casually taken the map from his pocket and started to check it.

"You really don't give a shit, do you?"

His hushed voice echoed as he made his accusation in the hollow tunnel.

"I have a mission to carry out." Fenmore stated, "That's what I'm here to do and I'm not laying my ass on the line for someone who shouldn't be on the team. I have a job to do; it's as simple as that."

Earl leaned against the wall as he got his breath back.

Zak was still beside him, not taking his eyes off him for a second.

"Are you sure you're okay to come with us?" He asked him, "If you're too sick tell me how to set off the timer and you can stay here and wait for us to come back."

Earl looked at him sharply.

"Don't start talking like _him!_" He said, glancing briefly at Fenmore, who was still studying the map, "I can do this, man! I _have_ to do this! I know this kind of stuff inside out – far better than you do! And I know more about hyper time than Fenmore ever will because_ I'm_ the guy who discovered it!"

But Earl was still slightly breathless and one look at him told Zak all he needed to know and it was a realisation that hit him hard: _Earl would most likely not make it out of here, even if he covered him, if he dragged him with him every step of the way – he was simply too sick to go into a fight like this, but he had that determined look in his eyes that said he was crazy enough to ignore the odds and the pain he was in and go ahead and do it anyway, no matter what was said to him..._

"We've been friends a long time, Zak." Earl stated as he finally got his breath back and stopped leaning against the wall, "Let's not start fighting now. I'm coming with you, I'm okay. Now let's go."

Zak turned to Fenmore.

"It's left, right?"

"Right." Fenmore replied.

Zak turned left and began to walk.

_"RIGHT!"_ Fenmore said angrily, jabbing a finger towards the darkened corridor that sharply turned into an area that was unlit.

"We go this way and-"

"Why don't you let _me_ take the lead?" Earl said wearily without even bothering to look at the map.

He briefly closed his eyes and dragged up a metal copy of the map, then he looked back at Zak and Fenmore.

"We walk down here, all the way down. We turn right and there's a shaft. We climb until we reach the second level. Then we have to cross halfway through it to get to the crawlspace that will take us up to the floor where we need to be."

"There's no patrol down here." Fenmore stated, "Once we get up to the next floor we're going to have company. We have to take them out before they raise the alarm. But we don't go into hyper time until we reach the third level because that's where the real threat lies and we have to use the time wisely."

Then he paused to adjust his weapon.

"Set your guns to level two. Forget about knocking 'em out of hyper time; if you do that they'll just raise the alarm back in real time and they'll send more people after us. Keep the guns on level two and shoot to kill."

Zak stared at him.

_"Shoot to kill?"_

"You'd be pretty dumb not to." Fenmore told him, "They'll be shooting to kill when they go for us."

Zak's hand hovered over the control panel on his gun.

But Earl had already raised his own gun and powered up to the second level.

"I'm not happy about doing this." He said, "But you've got to fight fire with fire –_ not fire with ice._.."

And their eyes met and Zak knew that he was right; it would be pointless freezing their assailants out of hyper time just so they could go back and fetch reinforcements.

He switched his gun to level two and the weapon powered up.

Then Earl looked into the darkness, where the tunnel turned sharply.

"Come on guys." He said reluctantly, "I'll lead the way, I might as well – I've got my copy of the map in my head..."

And Earl began to walk towards the end of the corridor. Zak ran after him and Fenmore followed on, pausing to look back just to be sure they really were alone on this dimly lit floor.

* * *

><p>As they reached the end of the corridor, the lighting grew dimmer and on turning the corner they saw that here the way was barely lit at all; there were bulbs that glowed like distant spotlights dotted here and there but this part of the route was dim and as they walked into the darkness it seemed to swallow them up.<p>

As they walked on Zak glanced back, seeing nothing in the dark as he tried to listen harder, making sure he could only hear the sound of his own footsteps and those of the two men who walked with him.

"Don't do that, dude!" Earl said nervously "I'm trying _not_ to think about us getting ambushed down here...let's just keep moving."

In this dimmer part of the tunnel water dripped from a leak somewhere in the pipe work and the _drip drip drip_ seemed to bounce and it echoed, doing nothing to take away Zak's unease. The lights flickered and Zak stopped, looking around in the eerie half light.

"What the hell was that?" He whispered.

Fenmore looked around, listened and shrugged it off.

"Just a faulty light...there's no one down here with us, we're alone right now."

The light flickered again.

Earl watched as the bulb stuttered on and off, then he looked back down the corridor and watched as another bulb flickered too.

"It's just the electrics." He remarked and he sounded so sure of it that was enough to set Zak's mind at ease.

They walked on once more, at the end of the corridor the light was a little brighter and as they reached the dead end Zak went over to the metal ladder fixed against the wall.

He looked up,_ all_ the way up: It was a steep climb to the next level and as he looked at Earl he noticed the scientist was also looking upwards, his gaze flickered nervously back to Zak as he thought about how much that climb would take out of him.

"Want me to go first?" He wondered.

"No chance." Fenmore snapped, shoving past Zak and Earl and reaching for the rungs of the ladder, "I'm going first – I don't want him falling down on me when I'm half way up!"

Earl glared at him but had no time to reply because Fenmore had already begun to climb.

Zak stepped back, having no intention of letting Earl go last because if he fell no one would be there to save him.

"Don't worry about me." Earl told him as he stepped onto the ladder and reached for the first rung, "I'll handle this climb, I'll handle it just to prove Fenmore's wrong about me!"

And he took a deep breath and started to climb.

Zak watched from the bottom and let him go a short distance ahead, then he began to climb too, staying close behind Earl and keeping his eyes on him all the time, hoping he was right about being able to handle this –_one slip wouldn't just prove Fenmore was right, one slip from this ladder would mean a fall onto concrete that would kill him for sure..._

* * *

><p>Maria had gone to bed early – Francesca had made sure of it – and it had made her heart ache as she had said good night to her daughter and promised her Daddy would be back in the morning. As she closed her bedroom door she felt more than a little guilty as she wondered if she should have made such a promise –<em> What if Zak didn't come back, what could she say to their daughter then?<em>

The summer evening was slipping into dusk now and she wished she could just go to bed and sleep as easily as Maria had but she didn't have the luxury of not knowing the truth and that truth was heavy on her mind. She didn't want to go to sleep and wake up to a phone call that might inform her Zak was dead. She was sure she would never sleep again until she knew he was safe once more.

_"Is Maria sleeping?"_

Kellie had asked the question softly.

Francesca nodded and walked over to Kellie's bedroom doorway.

Kellie was sitting on her bed with a photograph in her hand.

"Come here," She said to her,"I want to show you something."

Francesca sat beside her and smiled as she looked at the picture Kellie held in her hand, it was a photo taken ten years back of Ear when he had been a teenager.

"I always kept this picture." Kellie said, "I often used to look at it and think of him and wonder where he was or what he was doing. I never would have guessed he could have come back into our lives like he did."

And Kellie ran her finger down the picture and then put it on the table beside her bed.

_"It's not fair."_ She said quietly, "I keep thinking how sick he is and how much he has to face – I know he's probably not coming back."

And she blinked away tears as she looked at Francesca. When she spoke again her voice was breaking up.

"If you lost Zak I know it would be terrible for you and I don't want anything to happen to my brother, I don't mean it like that – but if you lost Zak at least you have ten years with him to look back on. You have those memories to hold onto. _But all I had with Earl was one night!_"

And tears blurred her eyes and she quickly wiped them away because she had cried so much lately and her eyes ached from it all.

"I wanted more than one night with him - I want a_ lifetime_ with him, it's just not fair!"

"Don't talk like that." Francesca said quietly, knowing that everything Kellie said was right and it had only served to stir up her own fears.

She reached over and took hold of Kellie's hands.

"Listen to me." She said, remembering Zak had every intention of making it back home_ and_ bringing Earl with him too, "Zak will get through this and he will not let anything happen to Earl! And they're not alone in there; they've got back up from Agent Fenmore. It's not like they've gone into this alone, you have to remember that! And they both have everything to live for - they _won't_ take chances, Kellie!"

Then she let go of her hands.

Kellie had stopped weeping and she had taken in everything she had told her.

"I just don't want to lose him." She stated, "I can't lose him- I've only just got together with him and I've loved that guy for years! I just want more than one night, I want him back here, I want him to fix himself with his machine and then we can look forward to the future."

At the mention of the chamber Francesca saw such hope in her eyes and the last thing she wanted to do was make her cry all over again – but she wanted her to be realistic, too.

"We can only hope the chamber will work." She reminded her, "Assuming Zak and Earl get back home and everything goes okay and they come back to us it doesn't change the fact that Earl is sick. He's been sick since the day Gates put him in hyper time for too long, but he just didn't know it back then. I'm not saying he can't cure himself but this machine he's built hasn't even been tested yet! The only way he'll know if it works is when he tries it out. And if it didn't work, you'd still lose him eventually."

Kellie fell silent as she thought about the way the same condition had taken her father's life five years before.

"I know that." She told her quietly, "And if the chamber doesn't work, I'll be there for him, I'll look after him. I'll take care of him for as long as he has left – I just don't want to lose him right now, can you understand that? _I just want more time with him - another week, another month – even another hour would be precious to me..._ I need to hold him in my arms again. If he doesn't come back I'll feel like a part of me has died too."

Francesca reached over and picked up the photo of Earl and placed it in Kellie's hand.

"Look at that guy." She said, "That's Earl, your sexy Dr Dopler who you can't stop talking about! Remember who he is, Kellie. He's not stupid, he knows what he's doing – and so does Zak. They'll come back to us, they _both_ will."

Then she gave Kellie a brief hug.

"Stop crying." She said," Try and be strong because right now I feel like I'm the _only_ one making the effort! Your Mom's sitting out in the garden watching the evening get darker and she's all alone with her thoughts but she's _not_ breaking down. I think we should both go out there and sit with her for a while, I think the three of us should be together at this time."

Then Francesca got up.

"Come on," She said, "Come downstairs with me. Don't sit up here all alone, you'll go crazy!"

Kellie nodded and wiped her eyes again.

"Okay, I'll be down in a minute." She told her.

Then as Francesca left the room, Kellie got up.

She stood there for a moment looking at the picture of Earl, then she spoke to his image quietly:

_"You'd better come back to me," _She whispered, _"Because we have something that's too good to lose. I love you, Earl Dopler."_

Then she kissed the photo and put it back on the table next to her bed and went downstairs to join Jenny and Francesca and this time she tried to keep herself together, focussing on the memory of what she had shared with Earl as she told herself Francesca had to be right – _they would both be coming home; Zak and Earl would both make it, they had to..._

* * *

><p>Fenmore was still climbing and had almost reached the walkway that led to the second level. Zak was far behind because Earl had slowed quite early in the climb and as he stopped for a third time and clung to the ladder breathing heavily, Zak climbed a little closer.<p>

"Want me to help you up?"

Earl's palms were sweating as he kept a tight hold of the metal rung.

"No," He said, taking in another breath, "Just give me a minute...I'll be okay. I _have_ to be okay, I won't slow you down..."

Then Earl closed his eyes, remembering he had to get through this because he had to get home and use the chamber before it was too late. And Kellie was waiting for him, too – _he had to get through this because he had too much to lose to give up now..._

His hands shook as exhaustion pulled at his muscles and holding onto the ladder started to hurt.

_"Come on man,"_ He said to himself, _"Get moving, you can do this..."_

Then he reached for the next rung and his shaking hand slipped, then he lost his footing and as he yelled out and grabbed at the ladder he caught the rung again and swung back against it hard, bumping his upper arm against the steel and giving a gasp of pain as he felt the blow heavy against the teleport implant beneath his flesh. Something warm and wet was running down his arm beneath his jacket; he knew it was blood and by the way his arm was throbbing he guessed the implant had either been snapped in his arm or dislodged in some way. But that was the _last_ thing he wanted Zak to know, because he had climbed up the ladder and reached him now, he was helping him to hold on as he supported him.

"Okay." Zak said, sounding shaken, "I don't care how long this takes...one rung at a time, do it with me! I'm _not_ letting you make the rest of this climb alone, you'll get yourself killed!"

The pain was biting into his arm now.

_"I'm ready."_ Earl said as he broke out in a cold sweat and his arm throbbed.

Zak reached for the next rung and so did Earl and they began to climb again, but this time they did it together.

Earl climbed as quickly as the pain would allow, as he tried to ignore the weakness and pain in his arm, deciding that Zak didn't need to know right now that he would _definitely_ not be coming back - _because his arm was hurting, it was bleeding, and that teleport chip was busted for sure..._


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Fenmore reached the top of the ladder and scrambled up to the walkway above.

_"Come on!"_ He said in a low voice as he beckoned to Zak.

Earl was shaking as he pulled himself up the final rung of the ladder. His arm was throbbing and as Fenmore grabbed him and pulled him he was grateful for the help. Zak climbed up after him and the three men stood together in the shadowy walkway, Earl leaning on the rail that ran across it as he glance at his jacket and felt relieved the blood had not leaked through; the _last_ thing he wanted Fenmore to know was that he was injured. The implant in his arm was biting at his flesh and he felt like he had piece of broken glass stuck in his arm; that chip was busted for sure, he knew it, he could feel it...

"They have patrols up here but I'm guessing it's minimal because we're on a lower level." Fenmore said as he checked his weapon.

Zak did the same to his own gun.

Earl left his weapon at his side; there was no way he could respond fast with his arm cut up like it was...

Zak looked along the walkway at the closed doors that lined it.

"Which way?" He wondered.

"Straight ahead. We're still in the maintenance area – one of these doors will be unlocked."

Fenmore went first, moving quickly and silently up the walk way, checking each of the doors in turn.

Zak turned to Earl.

"Are you okay now?"

Earl nodded.

He looked down at the dizzying drop to the ground floor.

"Thanks for helping me out back there."

"No problem."

Then Zak caught a flicker of something he couldn't read in his friend's eyes.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

Earl couldn't look him in the eye because he didn't want to lie to him.

"I'm fine." He replied, ignoring the pain as he checked his weapon.

"Let's go..."

Then Fenmore tugged at one of the heavy doors and it swung open.

_"That was easy."_ He remarked.

Then a sharp crack split the air and something hit Zak, throwing him against the pipe work on the wall.

He felt winded for a second and as steam began to hiss from the punctured pipe he reached down and saw his shirt was torn; there was a bloodstain emerging and he reached down, felt the pain and breathed a sigh of relief – it had hurt, it had caught him – but it was a minor wound.

"It grazed me...what _was_ that?"

Earl grabbed him by his shoulder and slammed him against the wall as more gunfire sounded and the pipes beside them were punctured with holes.

Steam filled the air and Zak coughed.

"What's going on?"

"The guards just took a shot at us." Earl said, "They must be way over there but they'll be on top of us any minute now – we can't see 'em, they're in hyper time. But they can't see _us_ now because of the steam... "

And As Zak pressed his hand to his side again as an ache spread through his body, Earl pulled him through the doorway.

More shots rang out and Earl raised his weapon and fired a volley of shots back at their invisible assailants.

Then as Zak recovered from taking a hit, Earl slammed the heavy door shut and sealed it.

He let go of the weapon and leaned against the wall, breathing hard.

"You handled that situation better than me." Zak told him.

"That was pure adrenaline!" Earl replied, "Don't count on me to pull that kind of stunt twice, I don't have it in me..."

"This way, guys!" Fenmore shouted down to them.

Zak and Earl looked up at the ladder, it was inside a narrow tunnel that went all the way up to the next level.

Earl gave a sigh of despair.

_"Not again!"_

The pain in Zak's side was easing off now.

"You have to go on." He told him, "It's not safe to go back now."

_"Tell me about it!"_ Earl muttered, then he reached for the ladder and began to climb.

Zak stepped onto the ladder and let Earl go a short distance ahead, then he began to follow.

_"Move your asses!"_ Yelled Fenmore as he climbed onwards.

Then bullets hit the sealed door, punching through the first layer of steel and landing heavy on the next, making the door weaken.

"Next set of rounds and they'll be through that door!" Earl said as he glanced back down.

Then he began to climb faster, ignoring the pain in his arms and the breathlessness that reminded him he was weak and wouldn't be getting any stronger. As he climbed Zak followed. Then another round of shots hit the door on the floor below and the door burst open.

Hyper time watches bleeped and the guards became visible.

They raised their weapons and Zak swung around, balancing carefully as he aimed the gun and kept his finger on the trigger.

Shot after shot boomed out and as the three men fell in turn and he saw just how fast these bullets cut through flesh, Zak felt his stomach turn over: There were blood spatters up the wall, over the open door and one of the men had almost had his head sliced off by the gun fire. They were all dead and dead by his hand but there was no time to think about what he had done; _it was kill or be killed..._

Fenmore reached the next level quickly; He stood over the shaft and looked down, keeping his weapon trained towards the ground in case they had more company.

Earl climbed as fast as he could, stopping twice to catch his breath and then deciding it was better _not_ to stop because doing that only reminded him just how weak he felt and then it was harder to get going again.

As he slowed down Zak climbed up to him and then they climbed together, reaching the top almost at the same time.

This time Fenmore had already busied himself looking for a way to the next level.

Zak looked down. The dead bodies of the guards were far below them and it was a hell of a drop from here...

"Hold on." He said to Earl, who was clinging to the ladder so hard his knuckles were turning white "I'll go up first and then pull you up."

"Okay." Earl replied, keeping a steady grip on the ladder as Zak climbed up and passed him, got onto the narrow ledge and then offered him his hand.

"Take it slow." Zak told him, "There's no safety rail up here. When I pull you up stay tight against the wall and _don't_ look down!"

Earl took a shaky breath.

"You can be sure I won't look down." He said in a low voice, "I'm starting to get dizzy, Zak..."

Zak leaned over, holding onto a pipe on the wall to steady himself and Earl grabbed his hand, then pulled him up quickly, as he stumbled up to the ledge Zak grabbed him and pushed him firmly against the wall.

Earl stayed against the wall and closed his eyes as he got his breath back.

"Thanks dude." He said, still breathing hard, "Let me know when the door's open – I can't look down, I need five minutes to rest..."

"We don't_ have_ five minutes, Dr Dopler." Fenmore reminded him.

Earl opened his eyes and glanced at Fenmore as his eyes narrowed.

_"No I guess we don't! What ever, man! I'm still along for the ride..."_

Fenmore ripped off a metal grille and tossed it aside.

"This crawlspace will take us through to the level where we need to be. I'm turning left about half way and carrying out my separate orders. I want you and Earl to carry on to main control and when you get there go into hyper time and do your stuff. I'll meet you at main control shortly after."

As they moved closer to the narrow, square tunnel, Fenmore made a move to get inside but Zak hesitated.

"You're leaving us? Why? What _are_ your separate orders?"

Fenmore smiled.

"Classified." He stated.

Zak stood his ground.

"I don't give a shit about _classified,_ I'm putting my _life_ on the line and so is Earl! We need to know what you're doing; we're supposed to be a team."

Earl sounded weary as he spoke up.

"Leave it Zak – I get it already: Were heading for main control to destroy their project. He's heading off the Randall's office before he catches up with us. I know what his orders are. _He kills people_."

Zak stared at Fenmore.

"You're here to kill Randall? I thought the FBI wanted to arrest her?"

Fenmore shrugged.

"Some people are beyond incarceration." He stated, "Some people have to be taken out. Now let's get moving before we meet up with another invisible army; I'm not getting my ass blown off for the sake of a time wasting conversation."

Then he disappeared into the crawlspace.

Zak glanced at Earl.

"You go next; if you get into trouble I'm right behind you."

Earl shook his head.

"You go first; I need to take five minutes to get my breath back. I'll be okay, I just don't want Fenmore to know how I'm feeling. I think he'd rather shoot me like a lame horse than help me out if I get sick."

Zak looked him in the eye.

"Five minutes." He repeated, "Then if you're not behind me I'm coming back to get you, okay?"

"I'll be there, don't worry about me." Earl replied.

Then he watched as Zak got into the crawlspace and began to make his way up the tunnel.

* * *

><p>Earl sat in the crawl space and leaned up against the side of the tunnel as he breathed hard and wished the pain in his upper arm would ease off.<p>

He glanced back up the tunnel; Zak had followed Fenmore and he was now out of sight.

Earl moved as quickly as he could, unstrapping his gun and then partly taking off his jacket.

"Oh no..." He said aloud as he saw the large bloodstain on his shirt. Then he partly unbuttoned it and pushed his shirt off his shoulder and took a look at the wound: It was open, the incision where the implant had been put in had split and a small shard of metal was sticking out of the cut.

_"Oh man this is gonna hurt!"_ He exclaimed, then he closed his eyes and took a deep breath and grabbed the implant and pulled it out.

He dropped the bloodstained chip onto the floor and checked the wound again. The other half of the chip was still in there and the pain was still burning and he knew it had to come out.

Earl stifled a yell of pain as he gave the cut a squeeze and blood ran down his arm. The pressure forced the wounded flesh upwards and the rest of the chip became visible. He caught the metal and gave it a tug, feeling relieved when the thing came out and only a small amount of blood followed; if he had hit that ladder any harder when the chip broke he knew there had been a good chance it could have embedded in an artery and if that was the case he would be bleeding to death right now; but that wasn't the case. The bleeding was minimal and stopping quickly and the pain was becoming much more bearable now.

Earl quickly straightened up his clothing and buttoned up his shirt again then secured his weapon again.

He wiped his blood stained hand inside his pocket so Zak didn't wonder where the stain came from, then he began to crawl up the tunnel as fast as he could, so he could catch up before Zak started to worry and wonder why he took so long.

* * *

><p>As Zak looked back yet again and wondered how long Earl would take, he breathed a sigh of relief as he finally saw he had began to make his way up the crawlspace and then Zak slowed down a little to let him catch up.<p>

"You took your time." He remarked.

"Well I guess being sick like I am is _something_ of a disadvantage, Zak!"

Zak glanced back at him.

"Okay, _dude_ - you didn't have to bite my head off!"

Earl carried on crawling up the tunnel.

"Sorry Zak but I'm kind of sore right now – I'm not in the mood for discussing the many reasons why I find this kind of stuff a little bit of a _challenge!_"

"I get that, chill out, Earl!"

_"Sure."_ He snapped as his voice became edged with sarcasm, _"I'll forget I'm sick, I'll forget my molecules are totally fucked...and I'll forget I'm in a dangerous situation I probably won't come back from...I'll just forget about it, I'll chill out..."_

Zak just shook his head as Earl carried on muttering to himself, concluding that at least he was still coping- if he was strong enough for a bad temper and sarcasm, he was_ definitely_ okay to carry on...

As they came to the fork in the tunnel, Fenmore paused and waited for Zak and Earl to catch up.

"It's time to go out separate ways." He stated, "Activate hyper time _now_."

And the watches beeped and the world shifted, then everything fell still once more.

"Remember," Fenmore said, "I'll join you at main control. Then we'll go back down and come out of hyper time and wait for recall."

"And it all sounds _too_ easy." Earl remarked bitterly.

Fenmore ignored his remark.

"Good luck." He said briefly, then he turned left and disappeared up the tunnel.

Earl was looking into the darkness.

"He didn't mean that. He doesn't care what happens to us. That dude's got his own orders to carry out - after that he's out of here, you wait and see- he _won't_ be back for us."

Zak looked at Earl. There had been something so final about the way he said that and it had got him thinking - _and_ worrying...

"He said he's coming back. Even if he doesn't, we've got each other – I'll back you up all the way."

There was sadness clouding Earl's eyes as he looked at Zak Gibbs.

"You and me have been through a lot together, haven't we?"

"Sure we have."

"Well this might be the one time when we don't make it through together." Earl told him, "I'm sick, I'm tired and I know this is going to get rougher than a few guys with big guns shooting at us from a distance. When we go in there it won't be long before they detect us and I don't think I can crack that code in five minutes. And there's something else too –_ if we blow the upper level every person working in this building will go up with it._"

Zak stared at him.

The loss of life had been one thing he hadn't considered when he had taken on this mission and been blinded by the thoughts of one more adventure to make the world a safer place.

_"I didn't think of it like that."_

Earl explained some more.

"These people working on the project – they're scientists just like me – they're working for Randall's organisation but they don't know what her real agenda is- they don't know any more than I knew Gates was planning to use hyper time as a weapon. I'm_ not_ going to kill innocent people, Zak."

As they were hunched together in the crawlspace Zak looked back at Earl and wondered where this conversation was leading. There was a look in Earl's eyes that made him wonder what the hell was going on in his mind –_ it almost sounded like the guy was saying goodbye to him..._

"What are you going to do about it?" He asked him.

Earl fell silent for a moment, he looked away, he ran over this plan as he had thought it out and then he looked back at Zak and spelled out the facts:

"I can crack the code to get to the auto destruct. But these kind of devices often have a second code, it's like a fail safe to make sure that the decision is made by the person in charge. I may not be able to crack that second part of the code- _it could be anything_ – Randall's date of birth her, bra size- or it could be a random set of letters and numbers and I may have _no_ chance of getting the permission to set the delayed timer."

"So what's the alternative?"

Earl knew he wasn't about to like the answer, but now was the time to tell him everything, before they went straight into danger.

"Manual detonation. _Somebody_ has to push the button. The explosion will be immediate and enough to wreck the whole floor. The lab's a secure contained area – the rest of the building will be okay as long as everything's locked down. _But no one in the main lab will survive once that button's pushed_."

Zak thought about it.

"I remember when we blew the lab at QT – there was a bomb proof chamber under the main control-"

Earl shook his head.

"I doubt if Randall has one of those. I saw the layout of the place. I've got a photographic memory and I knew what I saw on the map. There's no shelter in her main lab."

Zak shook his head.

"No, that's a crazy plan. We're not taking chances like that – you and me are going home when this is over."

_"You're going home."_

Zak stared at Earl.

"_We_ are going home, Earl!"

"No." He said quietly, "When I almost came off the ladder, when I hurt my arm the implant got smashed. It was broken in half and I had to pull it out of my arm when I got into the tunnel. _I'm not going home, Zak. They can't get me out of here, my teleport link is gone_."

Zak had heard every word Earl had said but as he blinked away tears he shook his head again.

"No, Earl! There's no way you're blowing this place up and taking yourself with it! You're coming home with me – _I'm not leaving without you!_"

Earl checked his watch.

"Zak, we're in hyper time. We don't have the time for this conversation. Let's get moving."

_"No!"_ He said in a shocked voice, "I'm not letting you do this to yourself! There _has_ to be another way!"

Earl gave a sigh and looked at him with tired eyes.

"I'm sick. After going through all this I doubt if I'd have been able to make it back and be in any kind of fit state to use my machine anyway – I'll probably die if I go through teleport a second time, I'm getting weaker by the minute. Fenmore's right – I shouldn't be here. That chamber I built was my last chance and I should have stayed behind and used it but I couldn't have lived with doing that knowing I'd let you go into a dangerous situation alone."

Then Earl checked his watch again.

"But maybe you're right." He said, hoping Zak would fall for his bluff, "There probably _is_ another way - and I'll probably find it when we get to the main control. Let's go, we can't afford to waste any more time."

Zak looked back at him.

"I hope you're right."

Earl managed a smile.

"Hey, I'm a genius, remember that, dude!"

"That's what I'm counting on." Zak replied, and then the two men took the right turn in the tunnel and began to make their way towards the passage that led to the main lab.

* * *

><p>Using a small magnetic screwdriver, Alchemy Fenmore loosened the last of the screws that held the metal grille in place. Then he gripped it and gave it a push and softly lifted it free before climbing out and standing up on the soft carpet that lined the hallway:<p>

This was Randall's private office area and intelligence had already told him there were no patrols within this part of the building – only cameras that slowly turned and relayed the scenes back to security control above. Fenmore waited for the camera to turn then he dashed quickly across the corridor and opened the door and went into a large, bright room where the windows were wide and the floor was marble and a woman in her forties sat frozen at a polished desk with unblinking eyes fixed on a computer monitor.

Fenmore approached her silently and smiled:_ Hyper time? This stuff made everything so easy..._

His hands crept over the shoulders of the woman at the desk; he still had a smile on his face. He paused to run his hands over her tailored suit that clung to her curves, then he breathed softly against her bobbed, light brown hair.

There was a light blinking on a panel and it carried a message that read _Unauthorised hyper time activity detected._

He glanced at the screen; there were the guards Zak had shot dead on the lower level.

"You _lost_ us?" He said aloud, "With all the guns you have above the surface you sure don't keep a close watch on the_ maintenance area_, do you?"

And the woman blinked, turned her head and smiled.

_"Did you actually think I was in real time just now?"_

He looked down at the hyper time watch on her wrist and laughed.

"I don't miss much, Ms Randall."

Then as she stood up his smile faded.

_"The package is delivered just like I promised."_

Randall looked back at him hopefully. _It had been a stroke of luck to find out Agent Fenmore had been ordered to take her out and wreck her research, but and even better one to find out he was easily bought off with cash..._

"Thank you so much for bringing me the most important piece of research material in the world – Dr Dopler's the only living person on the planet to have Accelerated Molecular Disorder and once we've used him for research we'll soon solve the problem of ageing in hyper time. Then nothing can stop me and my associates, the world will be at our feet."

Then she looked hard into his eyes.

"Where _is_ Dopler?"

"With Zak Gibbs. They're about to break into the main lab in hyper time. Don't worry about Gibbs - he's no one."

"Thank you." Randall replied, and then she picked up the phone and called security, asking for back up in the main lab.

* * *

><p>Zak had finally reached the end of the tunnel. Then he paused in the crawl space and looked through the metal grille: The control center was much like the one he recalled at Gate's lab back in the old days, but this platform was not raised, it was a brightly lit dome in the middle of the room and there were three people working inside it and many others at controls outside of the cell; all were frozen in hyper time and he could see no movement anywhere.<p>

"I think were safe to go in." He said, tugging at the grille and then kicking at it. The cover fell off with a crash and he climbed out, then turned back to Earl and grabbed his hand and helped him out.

"What now?" He wondered.

But then he noticed the look in Earl's eyes.

_"I guess you were right."_ He said quietly, _"I should have listened to you..."_

And he glared at Alchemy Fenmore as rage took over.

_"You're right – we never should have trusted him!"_

As they were surrounded by armed guards, Zak kept hold of his weapon. His finger was on the trigger and he was prepared to fight his way out of this or die trying.

But Earl just looked at him and shook his head.

"Don't be crazy, Zak. It's not you they want... don't you see, this is a setup! _It's me they want_."

Delphina Randall smiled.

"Well done, Dr Dopler - you are as smart as I was led to believe."

Zak looked at him in confusion.

"Why would they want _you?_"

Randall explained.

"He's got Accelerated Molecular Disorder- we need him for research. He's the key to finding a cure. Once we've done that the possibilities for hyper time are endless."

Zak took a step closer to Earl. As he closed his hand over his arm he felt him shaking.

"They can't do this to you." He told him, then he glared at Randall.

_"You're too late! We were sent in here to destroy your work! The FBI knows all about your links with the Far East."_

She smiled and shook her head.

"I never had any_ intention_ of sharing the power with any associates further than my own country, Zak. I severed ties with the Far East a long time ago and all evidence to show there may have been a connection is long since gone. I only used the connection to gain some vital components I needed for my own research. Mr Fenmore is going back to his superiors with evidence that my work consists of nothing more than medical research to cure Accelerated Molecular Disorder. _They can't touch me. I'm innocent of all wrong doing_."

And Alchemy Fenmore smiled too.

"Guess what, Dopler? You're coming to work for Ms Randall. You're going to sign yourself over to her research lab so they can use you to find a cure for ageing in hyper time."

Earl stared back at him in disbelief.

"You think I'll agree to that? Dude, you are _insane_ if you think I'll ever agree to it!"

"You_ will_ agree." Delphina Randall told him, "Because if you don't, I'll have your friend here shot dead in front of you. So what's it to be, Earl? Hurry up, I don't have all day to stand around and wait for your signature."

And she held out a document and a pen.

"Take it and sign it or Zak Gibbs dies."

_"Don't do it!"_ Zak yelled.

Then he was grabbed and his arms were pinned behind his back as a gun was pressed to his temple.

Earl's eyes widened in fear as he watched the guard's finger hover over the trigger and Zak was forced to wait, powerless to do a thing about it as the gun pressed harder against the side of his head.

Zak closed his eyes and took in a shaken breath.

"Don't do it." He whispered, _"Don't let them do this to you, Earl!"_

But then Zak was held tighter and that was enough to silence him.

Earl's hand shook as he snatched the paperwork from Randall.

"I won't let them shoot you, Zak!"

Zak dragged in a breath.

_"They'll shoot me anyway!"_ He yelled with the last of the breath he could grab to find his voice, "Don't you_ see_ that?"

"Mr Gibbs will be leaving the building unharmed, Dr Dopler." Alchemy Fenmore stated, "Under the strict understanding that his family will remain unharmed as long as he sticks to his story and keeps his mouth shut about the rest of it."

Zak could barely breathe and the gun was bruising his temple as he blinked back tears.

"Earl,_ don't_ do this!"

But Earl just scratched his signature across the paperwork and handed it back to Randall. Then he looked at Zak one last time and his voice trembled as he spoke.

"One of us has to get out of here, dude. _I always knew it wouldn't be me_."

Then Earl took off his gun and lowered it to the ground.

"Do what you like with me but let him go."

Randall glanced at two of the guards.

"Take Dr Dopler to the research lab and secure him."

One of the guards reached out to grab Earl's shoulder but he pulled away sharply.

"There's no need to force me." He stated, "I'm too sick to put up a fight. At least let me do this of my own free will, it's probably the last thing I'll ever do."

Then the guards led him away as Zak gave a sob and tried to get free, but they held him firmly until Earl had left the room and the door had closed securely behind him.

As Randall gave the order for the guards to let go of him, Zak wiped his eyes and he looked hard at her.

"What are you going to do to him?" He demanded.

"We'll take blood and tissue samples from him and then take some biopsies from his internal organs. We'll keep him alive as long as he's useful."

Zak stared at her.

"You can't treat him like that!"

"What difference does it make?" Randall said, "He's dying anyway."

Then she smiled at Zak.

"But you can forget all about your friend and go home to your family – as long as you forget about what happened here today."

Zak was desperate to pull something out of nothing to save Earl. He thought about it, and then he figured he had nothing to lose by trying.

_"He's already found a cure for Accelerated Molecular Disorder."_

Interest sparked in her eyes.

"Explain?" She said cautiously.

"Earl's planning to build a chamber..." He paused, thinking about his family. The chamber was at his family home in the basement and he couldn't put his family at risk over this... "It's just at the planning stage but he wants to build it. It works like a decompression chamber, except that it reverses the damage caused by staying too long in hyper time –_please listen to me, I'm telling the truth!_ You can't torture him and treat him like a lab rat, he'll die and he doesn't have to –_ nobody_ has to die from the disease that killed my father ever again because _Earl has the cure!_"

She looked at him doubtfully, but all the same considered his words because there was something about what he had just said that seemed to ring true.

"Is this right?" She wondered as she looked at Zak, "Is this chamber he's planning to build a guaranteed cure?"

Zak nodded.

"You could send your people into hyper time and they could stay in it for as long as they wanted to, a stay in that chamber would reverse the effects. Ask him! _Ask_ Earl about reverse hyper time! _Ask him what he's planning to do with it!_"

Delphina Randall looked into his eyes.

Zak looked back at her.

"Please, you've _got_ to believe me!" He said desperately, knowing this was the only chance he had to try and save Earl from a painful death.

* * *

><p>Earl Dopler had no idea that Zak was still at gun point and begging to have him released.<p>

As he lay back on a reclining chair with his shirt off and his wrists strapped down he looked around the white room with the blank walls and resigned himself to the fact that this mission had gone badly wrong, Fenmore was a double crossing dirtbag and he had been right all the long when he had thought he was the one who wouldn't be coming back...

Medical staff came to take blood samples from his arm, he weakly told them to be careful because he was already hurting - but the needles bit deep and they took his blood and then left him alone again.

He was still cold and shivering after a painful come down from hyper time when he had first entered this room and been sprayed with a burst of liquid nitrogen but no one had even cared that he was cold.

No one had spoken to him; they hadn't even bothered to clean his arm up after taking his blood and that worried him a lot.

What worried him even more was the fact that he had a view through a window into the next room and that room was being set up to carry out surgery.

Earl gave a quiet sob and screw his eyes shut tightly as tears ran down his face.

_"I love you Kellie."_ He whispered, wishing he could speak to her one last time. He wanted to see Zak one last time too, just tell him that he was sorry how things had turned out, that he wished he could go home but now he never would - and he wanted to tell him that he loved Kellie, he wanted her to know that he had never intended for things to turn out this way...

Earl took another look around the blank room and then closed his eyes again, not wanting to think about what would happen to him next.

Instead he thought about Kellie, remembered her kiss and remembered how it felt to hold her in his arms.

Then he made a silent vow that when the end came, no matter how it came or how much pain he was in, there was one thing they couldn't take from him and that was his memories; _When the end came, he would close his eyes and remember nothing but the fact that he loved Kellie Gibbs and that would be his last thought as he remembered the face of the woman whose name was written in his heart._

* * *

><p>On the level below the floor where Earl was being held, Zak was still trying to convince Randall that he was telling the truth.<p>

"I don't_ know_ the specifics of the machine!" He said to her, "I'm not a scientist! It's Earl you need to be taking to, he can explain it all – he's got a photographic memory, he can draw a copy of the blueprint for you! _Please_ believe me – don't treat him like a lab rat – ask him about the machine he's built."

Then Agent Fenmore spoke up.

_"Ignore him."_ He stated, _"Zak Gibbs is lying, he's just trying to save his friend. Earl Dopler hasn't found a cure – there is no chamber."_

Zak looked at him sharply.

"You_ know_ about his machine!"

And Fenmore fixed him with an expression he couldn't read.

"Stop lying, Zak. We both know Dr Dopler hasn't invented anything that can fix the ageing problem."

And he turned to Randall and said it again:

"He's lying; he's just trying to save his friend."

Then as confusion clouded Zak's eyes, Randall spoke again to Fenmore.

"Maybe we shouldn't let him go."

"No." Fenmore said at once, "We can trust him. He wouldn't want to think any harm might come to his family, would you Zak?"

And Zak slowly shook his head.

Then Fenmore glanced at Randall again.

"I think it's only fair we let Zak see Dr Dopler one last time so he can say goodbye. Would that be better than nothing, Zak?"

And Zak nodded as he blinked back tears, not wanting to think about what would happen to Earl after he left him behind. If he could do nothing else he was sure that Earl needed to see someone who cared, even a touch or hug or a few words would mean so much to him right now.

Then Fenmore stepped forward and took the hyper time watch off Zak's wrist and slipped it into his pocket.

"I'll take that," He said, "The only place you're going is home after you've said goodbye to your friend."

"Watch him." Randall said cautiously.

Fenmore laughed and put his hand on the weapon he carried.

"You bet I will."

And his voice hardened as he looked at Zak.

"Come with me, Zak. You can see Earl one last time but of you try anything I'll have to shoot you, understand?"

"Sure." Zak said quietly, "I just want to see him one last time, I want to say goodbye."

"This way." Fenmore said, and then with one hand on the weapon he led Zak from the room and towards an elevator - _and while they walked, Zak silently wondered whose side Fenmore was really on..._


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

When the elevator doors opened Zak stepped inside and so did Fenmore.

The doors closed again and Zak looked around at the cameras that followed them.

"Why are you letting me do this?" He demanded, "Back there I was about to get shot! How come you're suddenly doing me a favor?"

Fenmore said nothing at first, just looked ahead and then up at the camera and then back at Zak.

"If you try anything," He told him, "You won't be leaving this building alive. Do exactly as I say."

And Zak looked at him in confusion.

_"Exactly as I say."_ He repeated, keeping his hand on the weapon.

Zak caught a look in his eyes that made him wonder about something he couldn't say aloud – _was Fenmore playing a double game here?_ _Had he found out that Randall knew too much and had decided to make out he was crossing over to her side?_ She trusted him, that was clear - maybe he had been working on her for a while, that seemed likely, or he wouldn't be here now, getting another chance to see Earl...

The elevator doors opened and Fenmore led him out into a corridor.

"This is the research lab area." He told him, "Your friend's this way."

And Zak walked beside him, making no attempt to grab the gun because he knew security would be on him in seconds – and also he wasn't _quite_ sure what Fenmore was up to...

They went to the end of a corridor and Fenmore used his pass to open the door.

Zak ran into the room and his heart raced in fear as he saw what had happened to his friend: Earl was strapped to a table, they'd removed his shirt and he was wired up to monitors. He had needle marks in his arms and as Zak looked through the window into the room beyond he saw that medical staff were preparing the room for surgery.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Earl said to him, "Get out of here while you still can!"

"They said I could see you one last time." Zak told him as he stood beside him and blinked back tears, "I wish I could get you out of here."

Earl had long since given up trying to work loose the straps that held his wrists down. He looked up at Zak with sadness in his eyes.

"I just hope what ever they do to me will be quick. And I hope they knock me out for it, too. I _don't_ want to die in pain."

Fenmore closed the door and locked it.

He glanced up at the window, then went over to the other door and quietly locked the door that connected to the next room, then drew a curtain across. The staff were busy in there and it would be a while before they realised he had just locked them in.

Zak hadn't noticed what Fenmore had done; he was looking tearfully at Earl.

"I don't want to leave without you."

"Dude, you_ have_ to – I lost my teleport chip, remember?" And Earl's voice dropped lower.

"I'm sick, I don't have long, probably not long enough to use the machine any way - I came here with you instead. But at least you'll get to go home."

Then he thought about Kellie.

"I want to tell you something, Zak. You might not be expecting this and I hope you don't get mad at me but something happened between me and someone you're very close to. I'm seeing someone, we love each other..._she's someone you're very protective about_."

And he looked at Zak and waited for a response.

Zak thought about it...Earl had aged into his forties. _He was pretty close to the same age as..._ His eyes widened.

_"Not my Mom!"_ He said in hushed voice.

Earl gave a sigh of impatience.

"No, _not_ your Mom! Dude, I'm strapped down, I'm about to be _tortured_ and I will probably _die_ and I don't have much time and you're _not_ thinking! Try harder..."

"Kellie?" He wondered.

Earl looked at him apologetically.

"I love the girl. I'm sorry man, I've been seeing your sister! I know you're probably mad at me because you were always so protective towards her but –"

"Kellie?" Zak said again.

Then he smiled.

"You mean my grown up sister who's perfectly capable of running her own life and deciding who she wants to get involved with? "

Then he laughed.

"I'm not mad at you! I'm _happy_ for you!"

Then he saw the look in Earl's eyes and his smile faded.

"I'm sorry I can't get you out of here."

Earl pulled himself together, determined Zak's last memory of him wouldn't be one of him sobbing and shaking like a frightened wreck.

_"Just tell Kellie what I was like. Tell her I put up a fight; tell her I would have done anything to get out of here. And tell her I love her."_

Then Zak noticed something Earl had not realised: Fenmore had taken his shirt and coat from a near by chair and as he stood beside them he drew two hyper time watches out of his pocket – _now he knew for sure whose side he was on..._

Zak smiled as he grabbed a watch and put it on.

_"Tell her yourself, Earl!_ _We're going home!_"

Earl looked confused at first, and then as Fenmore untied his other wrist he sat up and grabbed his shirt and put it on.

"So you're not on their side?" He wondered, grabbing his jacket too and pausing to put on the hyper time watch.

"No, but Randall _thinks_ she can trust me." Fenmore replied, "We don't have much time – I have the codes to destroy the lab."

As Earl got up and straightened up his jacket he handed him a piece of paper.

"It's all there." Fenmore told him, "Both codes to activate the timer. Now we have to move fast. Randall's out of hyper time and she's called security back to minimum. We have to move fast before she realises what's happening or its game over for all of us. Activate hyper time, get back to the lab on the next floor and I'll see you there after I've carried out my orders. Then we go back down and wait for recall. And _hurry up_, we've lost time! We have twenty minutes left in hyper time and no more!"

Zak and Earl exchanged a smile and as the watches bleeped, they vanished from real time the world shifted and they were in hyper time once more.

* * *

><p>Fenmore made his way quickly back to Randall's office.<p>

He opened the door and walked in, knowing he was invisible and the only people who stood a chance of seeing him were guards on hyper time watch, but up here in her private quarters, there was no danger of that happening...

Randall was sitting at her desk. Her hyper time watch was off her wrist and he picked it up and put it in his pocket. He pulled open a drawer and checked her list of codes. Then he went over to the wall and pushed a picture aside and punched the code into the safe. The door opened and he took out the box of hyper time watches and began to shove them in his deep pockets.

As he worked he glanced back at Randall; she was in real time for sure; _she had no idea what was about to happen..._

Then he shut the safe, replaced the picture and went back over to her desk. He stood behind her and placed his hand on her cheek.

_"Thanks for the cash,"_ He said in a low voice, "But you can't really buy me- I _know_ whose side I'm on."

Then he kept hold of her face, keeping her in perfect balance as he drew out a flick knife and slid it across her throat.

The wound looked frozen in hyper time; it was a thin red line from which a single droplet of blood emerged and then remained still in the air.

Then Fenmore wiped his knife on the shoulder of her jacket before retracting the blade and leaving the room, locking the door behind him.

* * *

><p>Down in the lab, Earl was tapping in numbers fast as he broke through the commands and reached the self destruct level.<p>

He ordered a timed detonation after setting the last of the codes in place, and then he looked sharply at Zak.

"One last thing, dude."

"What?" Zak wondered.

_"We come out of hyper time for five seconds."_

Zak looked at him like he was crazy.

"And then we get _caught!_"

Earl shook his head.

"Five seconds, that's all it'll take to set off the alarm so everyone can get out before the place blows."

Zak nodded.

"Let's do it."

They both stopped their watches and the word crashed back to real time, several alarmed staff stared at Zak and Earl as they wondered what they were doing in the lab.

Earl hit the alarm.

_"Everybody get out of here!"_ He yelled as his finger hovered over the timed detonator, _"This place is gonna blow!"_

As people began to panic and scramble for the exit, Earl looked back at Zak.

"Let me set the detonator..."

And he hit the button in real time.

"Now let's go back to hyper time." He told him.

Their watches activated again and suddenly the panic and the chaos were frozen.

Then the door opened and Fenmore came into the room.

"Come on, we have to get down the bottom level!"

_"No."_

Earl was breathless again and as he looked at Zak he shook his head.

"I can't do it, man. I'll never make the climb. Get out of here while you still can."

Zak's eyes filled with tears. Earl had used the last of his strength to finish this mission, now he was pale, exhausted and one look in his eyes told Zak all he needed to know – he _couldn't_ go on. As the timer bleeped Earl sank to his knees and leaned against the wall of the dome.

"Just go, Zak...it's too late for me."

_"ZAK!"_ Yelled Fenmore, "We have to get back to the liaison point _now!_"

But he ignored him, going over to Earl, and then he leaned down and put his arm around him.

"Zak!" Fenmore called again "This is your _last chance!_"

"I'm not leaving him!" He replied.

Fenmore shook his head, then turned and hurried from the lab.

Zak pulled Earl to his feet.

"Come on, Earl! We _have_ to get out of here!"

Earl's eyes were tired and the shadows beneath them seemed even darker now.

"I'm dying." He whispered, "You know that – this mission has just about finished me off. Just leave me here..."

_"No!"_

Zak grabbed Earl's arm and put it around his shoulder then half walked and half carried him to the exit.

Once they were out of the lab and in the elevator he hit the button for the ground floor.

"Are you crazy?" Earl said weakly, "They'll shoot us, dude!"

"The alarm's gone off. Everyone wants to get the hell out – including the guards who are in hyper time! Nobody wants to stick around for a bomb to go off! We can do this now if we _hurry!_"

Earl leaned against him as he fought for breath.

"Zak," He said weakly, "I think you're wasting your time, man...I don't think I can hold on much longer..."

_"Yes you can."_

Zak supported him as they hurried from the building past heavily armed security who were all in real time and unmoving.

Once outside he scanned the parking lot and saw the door of a sports car wide open. A woman was standing by the open door and the car keys were in her hand.

Zak carefully moved her back and snatched the keys from her.

_"Sorry honey, we need this ride!"_

Then he shoved Earl into the car before getting into the driving seat and starting the engine.

The car took off with a squeal of rubber as Zak drove away from the building at break neck speed...

* * *

><p>Earl was in the seat beside him looking barely conscious; the effort of everything he had been through had taken its toll on an already sick man and he knew he was right by one look at him - he <em>didn't<em> have much time left.

"Where are we going?" He said weakly.

"Home." Zak said as he raced through the streets, weaving past frozen cars that dotted the highway, "We've still got enough hyper time."

"For what?"

"To get you home in hyper time – to get you back home and into that invention of yours."

Earl closed his eyes and gave a sigh.

"It's too late, dude. I won't make it, I can feel it..."

Zak glanced at the dial and watched the speed climb as the kept the car moving.

_"You'll make it."_ He promised him, _"I'll make sure you do!"_

The car screeched to a halt outside Zak's house.

He put his arm around Earl and pulled him from the car. By now Earl was so weak he was stumbling as Zak led him up the front door and opened it quickly.

_"It's too late."_ He whispered as he looked at Zak, "_I'm going, man. I can feel it."_

And Zak kept hold of him, feeling his weight growing heavier by the minute as he dragged him through the house.

He paused briefly to see that his Mom was sleeping on the sofa and Francesca was standing by the window; a tear was frozen on her cheek and the look in her eyes said all he would ever have to know about how much she loved him... he guessed Kellie was upstairs and so was his daughter. But all his family were frozen in real time and he didn't have enough hyper time left to stop and take in this scene that had been captured.

They reached the basement door and Zak opened it.

"We're almost there, Earl!"

As Zak continued to hold him up, Earl's head flopped forward as he passed out.

_"Earl!"_ He said sharply _"We're almost there..."_

But Dr Dopler was unconscious now.

Zak kept hold of him and half dragged him down into the basement and got him over to the machine.

He pressed a button and the lid lifted up.

As he put him inside it and laid him out flat on his back, he glanced at the control panel.

"Activate reverse hyper time." He said aloud, hoping Earl hadn't programmed the voice command to obey only his voice.

To his relief the computer replied in his sister's voice:

"Activation will begin when chamber is sealed."

Zak leaned over Earl.

"It's okay, I got you home..._did you hear me?_"

But Earl remained unresponsive, and as he looked at him closer, Zak gave a sob as he realised he wasn't even sure if he was breathing any more...

_"Don't you die now!"_ He said tearfully, _"Not after everything we've been through!"_

And he closed the lid.

_"Goodnight Sweetheart."_ Said Kellie's voice, _"I love you..."_

Zak gave a sob.

_"I love you too, Earl."_ He said tearfully as he watched him motionless in the chamber, _"Please don't die..."_

Then his watch bleeped, sending him out of hyper time and an instant later the world shimmered, shifted and he melted with it, when the world became solid once more he was in the metal chamber at Area 51 where the walls glowed red - and the door was open and Agent Moore and Agent Fenmore were staring at him.

"Where the hell did you get to?" Complained Moore, "It took a _lot_ of work to lock on to you! You must have been _miles_ off target!"

Then he noticed Zak was alone.

"Where's Dopler?" He wondered.

Tears ran from Zak's eyes

_"I don't think he made it."_ He said quietly.

And as he started to a sob quietly for his friend, Agent Moore went into the room and put his hand on his shoulder.

"You did a fine job, "He told him, "You and Dr Dopler- you're _both_ heroes."

Zak heard what he said but right now words held little consolation; he could still picture Earl as he remembered him lying in that chamber and he didn't want to think about it any more but he had looked like he was dead...

"I just want to go home." He said to Agent Moore, "I need to be with my family."

Moore nodded.

"I'll arrange for you to have transport right away." He promised him.

As they walked out of the teleport chamber Zak glanced at Fenmore.

"Sorry I was wrong about you. I didn't know you were playing a double game like that. Thanks for everything you did for us."

Fenmore smiled.

"No worries. See you around."

Then he walked off and Agent Moore told Zak there was a car waiting to take him home, but even though he desperately wanted to be back home, he _still_ couldn't stop thinking about Earl, who was still in the basement in that chamber. He thought about calling his family but decided it was better to wait;_ he didn't want his Mom or Kellie going down there and opening the lid and finding Earl dead..._

Throughout the journey home, he sat in silence in the car and thought how different the other journey had been, with Fenmore and Earl squabbling... It sure seemed silent without Earl Dopler. He guessed life _always_ would seem too quiet now if Earl was gone...

* * *

><p>The morning sunrise was bright and golden. As Jenny woke up she checked the time and realised it was almost six in the morning.<p>

Francesca was asleep on the chair by the window. Jenny saw no sign of her daughter but didn't have to think to hard to realise she was probably upstairs, crying into her pillow again over Earl.

Then Francesca shifted uncomfortably on the chair and sat up slowly opening her eyes.

"No phone calls?" She wondered.

Jenny shook her head.

"The phone's right next to me, honey. I would have woken up if it rang; I swear was listening for it in my sleep!"

Francesca gave a sigh.

"I'd better go and see if Maria's awake."

"She's still asleep, I just checked on her." Kellie announced as she walked through the door.

Then she glanced at her Mom and Francesca.

"Any news on the guys?"

Both women shook their heads.

"Okay." Kellie said quietly, and then she left the room and headed out to the garden where she sat alone at the table on the patio and watched the sunrise while her thoughts remained with Earl Dopler.

* * *

><p>As Jenny heard the sound of a car pulling up outside she pulled the curtain back and looked out.<p>

Zak got out of the car. His shirt was torn just above his hip and there was a small blood stain there too - but apart from that her son looked fine, her boy was back; he was home and she smiled as she looked at Francesca and saw the relief in her eyes.

_"He's back!"_ Jenny exclaimed.

Francesca's eyes glowed with joy to think her husband was safe, but her smile faded a little as she realised he was alone.

Then the door opened and Zak walked in.

Jenny grabbed him and hugged him, thankful that her son was safe once more.

Then as Maria raced down the stairs and yelled _Daddy_ and ran to her father, Zak gave his daughter a hug and then put his arms around Francesca and kissed her.

She looked deeply into his eyes.

"Missed me?" He asked her.

"_Very_ much!"She replied, "And I hope this is the very _last_ of your adventures with hyper time."

Holding his wife in his arms once more had never felt so good.

"It's _definitely_ the last time!" He promised her, "You can be sure of that."

Then as Zak looked into her eyes she heard the words she had wanted to hear him say for so long:

_"I'm through with being a hero."_ He told her, _"You're right – I have too much to lose. You and Maria come first from now on."_

Francesca smiled as she looked at Zak. Then her smile faded.

"Where's Earl?"

Zak hesitated.

"I'm not sure if he made it back okay – "

Jenny looked at her son.

"What do you mean?"

Francesca blinked back tears as she thought about Kellie, who was sitting alone in the garden waiting for news on the man she loved.

Zak shook his head.

"I don't know how to explain this – Earl lost his chip so they couldn't get him out of there. So I got him out – _in hyper time_ – but I don't know if I was too late, I got him back here, I got the machine working but I don't know if he made it or not."

"You got him back to the chamber?" Jenny said, "And he's still down there?"

Zak nodded.

Then he knew he couldn't delay this any longer; he had to know if he was okay.

"I'll go and check on him right now." He said.

* * *

><p>Zak hurried down the steps of the cellar and Francesca followed, while Jenny kept Maria upstairs in the kitchen –<em>because she wasn't sure what they were about to find down there and a dead body was not a sight for a child to be looking at...<em>

"Zak, _slow down!_" Francesca said sharply as she followed him down the steps, "Be _careful!_ You don't know if that machine's safe and you said you've activated it; he was messing around with_ hyper time_, think about what you're doing!"

"I know what I'm doing." Zak said as he reached the bottom of the stairs and hurried over to the chamber, "I didn't know if he was alive or dead when I put him in this thing. He's been in there long enough...there's only one way to find out of he made it or not."

And he pulled a manual release lever and the chamber opened up.

Francesca stared inside and so did Zak; _the machine was empty._

"Where the hell did he go?" Francesca said in alarm, "What happened...oh my God, maybe it went wrong...maybe it vaporized him or something!"

Zak was still staring at the empty chamber.

"No, he couldn't have made a fatal error like that! He's way too smart to get himself killed!"

Francesca looked at him doubtfully.

"He wasn't exactly smart with the way he played around with trying to fix his own ageing problem, was he? _Zak, what's happened to him?_"

_"I don't know."_ Zak said in a hushed voice, _"He was here, he was right here..."_

* * *

><p>"I want to go in the garden with Kellie." Maria said as she looked up at Jenny.<p>

Her grandmother pulled out a chair at the kitchen table and invited her to sit instead.

"It's far too early to be going outside – you haven't even had breakfast! Let me make you something to eat first."

Then she glanced out of the window at Kellie sitting all alone as she missed the man she loved and her mother's heart ached for her.

"Besides," She said to Maria, "Kellie needs to be alone right now; she's missing someone she loves."

And as she said that Jenny thought about her late husband who she would miss forever; that ache she felt in her heart for her daughter increased as she realised Kellie would have a_ lot_ of lonely years to live with her sadness as she grieved for Earl...

Then someone came down the stairs and walked into the kitchen.

Jenny was still looking out the window at her daughter who sat alone with her thoughts in the garden.

_"Uncle Earl!"_ Maria exclaimed.

Jenny turned sharply from the window and her jaw dropped as she stared at Earl Dopler.

He smiled.

"Hi Mrs G, where's Kellie? I _really_ need to speak to her..."

_"Earl?"_

As he heard Zak say his name he turned and saw Zak and Francesca had just come up from the basement.

Zak threw his arms around him and hugged him.

"I went down there and looked for you –I didn't know what to think when we found the machine empty!"

Earl quickly explained:

"After you got me here in hyper time and got the machine working I woke up a few hours later feeling _a lot_ better. So I went to bed and caught up on my sleep then I had a shower, got changed and thought I'd come downstairs and let everyone know I'm okay."

Then he glanced around the room again and looked back at Jenny.

"I need to speak to her right now – where's your daughter, Mrs G?"

As Jenny thought about how happy Kellie was going to be her eyes shone with joy.

"She's in the garden." She told him.

* * *

><p>Earl went outside.<p>

Kellie was sitting at the table on the patio and she was looking towards the end of the garden and her thoughts were a thousand miles away as she thought about Earl and wished she could be with him.

Then she heard a familiar voice.

_"I hope you're okay with another change of plan. I made it home and the machine works, I'm okay now."_

She stood up and turned around, at first too breathless to speak.

As she looked at Earl her eyes filled with tears of joy; yes, the machine_ did_ work – Earl didn't look any younger but he certainly didn't look sick any more – Earl looked great. She had _never_ seen him looking so well before...

After he had turned off the machine and left the basement and caught up on his sleep, Earl had showered and changed out of his blood stained clothes and now he looked immaculate in a white shirt and faded blue jeans.

"I hope you think I look okay," He said as he stepped closer to Kellie and put his arms around her, "Because I'm better now and this is about as good as it gets."

She laughed as he held her tighter.

_"You look amazing!"_

And she ran her fingers though his hair and kissed him.

Earl smiled as his blue eyes sparkled.

"I _feel_ amazing too." He told her, "Let me show you how good I feel."

And as they kissed again he lifted her into his arms and she wrapped her legs around his waist and they carried on kissing, their kisses getting deeper and showing no sign of ending as the sun rose across the new morning.

* * *

><p><strong>One Year Later<strong>

It was summertime again and Maria was in the garden playing on her swing.

Jenny and Francesca had gone shopping together and as Zak watched his daughter playing and thought about his wife who couldn't wait to get home again to be with him, he felt like the luckiest man in the world. There had once been a time when he had felt quite the opposite; but Francesca had stood by him through the worst of life and now, together they were enjoying a happy life at last.

_He wondered if his life would ever seem dull now his adventures were over._

Then Earl, who was sitting on the lawn with Kellie, asked her to pass him some of his notes while he worked on his laptop and wrote more of his hyper time safety manual.

As she passed him the notes he glanced at her, then caught her hand and pulled her closer and murmured something Zak couldn't catch. Kellie said something back to him softly and they kissed, then kissed again, then Earl pulled her back a third time and gave her another kiss, before carrying on with his work with a big smile on his face.

Zak thought about the manual Earl was writing- if hyper time was ever used in a major way that manual would become the user's bible. And Earl had already showed him what was written on the inside of the front page:_ Dedicated to the memory of George Gibbs..._

Zak was sure his father would have been pleased with the way their lives had all worked out in the end.

And as he thought about the way their lives had worked out, he made a decision that he would, in future, be careful what he wished for - because one adventure had been enough and two had almost got him killed. _Francesca was right; his family did come first._

And as he thought about that fact he smiled, knowing for sure his father would have been proud of him - because he had _always_ put his family first - and Zak was doing the same thing now.

He thought about his adventure ten years ago with Francesca and Earl, and then he remembered that they had once, briefly been heroes. _And that was good enough, because adventures couldn't last forever and at the end of the day, his family was his number one priority._

That thought made Zak proud of himself- because he knew it for sure; he was_ exactly_ like his Dad. And that was no bad thing at all; he was Zak Gibbs, a family man with his adventures behind him now and that was just fine, because life was great and knew for sure he would never long for the past again, not when he had everything that mattered right here and now – and not in hyper time, but in real time, in real life- because _that_ was where things mattered the most...

**The End.**


End file.
